No Ocean's Too Wide
by Converse r life
Summary: Ariel and Eric live, learn, and love during the first year of their marriage to one another. And 70 years later, they reminisce.....
1. Chapter 1

As soon as those fateful words left Eric's lips, he knew it had been the wrong thing to say. He looked at his wife quickly, and she looked.....stunned. Her mouth was opening and closing, as if the words she wanted to say weren't forming, and her eyes pooled with tears. Eric rearranged his expression to soften the blow, but there was nothing to be done. He had said it; those words were out there in the air for her to hear, and for him to shudder at.

"Y-You regret marrying me?" Ariel's voice was a whisper as she saw Eric's eyes widen in shock of what he had just said. The words echoed in Ariel's mind, over and over, and each time she heard them she wanted to crawl up into a little ball in the deepest, darkest corner of the world.

"Ariel, I'm sorry. That came out wrong." Eric said quickly, taking a step towards her. Instead of embracing him like she usually did, she shrunk away from his offered contact, whimpering like a frightened animal.

"You didn't answer my question." Ariel's soft melodic voice came out broken and strangled, and Eric took another step towards her, reaching out to hold her hand, but again she stepped away from him, this time looking up into his eyes with torture.

"My little mermaid, I--" Eric this time caught hold of her smooth hand and started to pull her in gently to talk to her, but Ariel somehow squirmed out of his grasp, and stood back in the shadows of the room.

"How could you?" Ariel finally whispered, starting to let her tears fall from her eyes and sob. "I thought you loved me...." She sobbed out, running from the room, her hands to her face.

"Ariel!" Eric tried to go after her, but he stumbled over his boots and tripped. He stood up quickly, and then stared at the door, wondering how on earth he was going to fix this. How could a simple conversation go so wrong?

Eric knew that the right thing for him to do was go after her; he was a fast runner, and Ariel barely could run without tripping over air a few times, so that must mean that she wasn't too far ahead. But what would he do once he got to her? Apologize? That hadn't worked. He could drag her back. He _was_ stronger than her....no that would only make things worse! Eric sighed and sat on one of the couches in the library, putting his face into his hands and thinking. He would let her have an hour or so alone, before he made her come back to the castle to at _least_ eat dinner and sleep in a place where he knew she was safe, warm, and sound asleep. Willingly or unwillingly.

Ariel on the other hand had thoughts that rang clear as a bell in her head. But she pushed those thoughts out from her head, focusing on staying quiet in the castle. One servant could tip off anyone where she might be _**if**_ they even came looking for her later, and then she would be dragged back to the castle where Carlotta would fuss over her a bit, making sure she was bathed and scrubbed head to toe because she had probably caught 'nasty little germs and no one wanted a sick Queen'. Not to mention the fact that Carlotta would use the opportunity to lecture her on 'running off like that'. Then she'd be sent straight to bed, as if she was still a small child, where Eric would hug her and kiss her and say that everything was alright.

But it wasn't alright, and they both knew it. Now wasn't the time to think about that though; now was the time to walk on her toes outside, and then she would run. Barely anyone crossed her way to the doors outside, but when one servant did and inquired why her face was so red, she had just said that she had been at the rooftop garden, and she got sunburn. It was an ugly lie, but it evidently got the servant's attention and he had nodded and then went about doing his business.

Ariel finally got to the doors that lead outside, and stepped onto the first marble step....and then ran down the rest. Surprisingly she didn't trip until the very last step, and that's when she started to sob, letting the pain of her fall mix with the pain of her heart. But she got up and ran down the shore line until she was out of breath. Once in that secluded little area, she did what she had wanted to do. She curled up into a fetal position, and cried.


	2. Chapter 2

"Carlotta, have you seen Ariel? It's getting dark." Eric said worriedly. His wife had been missing for a full hour now; usually that wasn't a concern, but one of the things he always begged of her was to never be out past the setting sun. At least, not without him or near the castle. Dangerous people ruled the nights; he didn't want her getting hurt.

"No, I haven't seen her since this morning. My guess would be that she's still out in the sea; the child probably lost track of time.....again." Carlotta answered with a warm laugh, knowing how Eric could be when things concerned Ariel.

"Thank you." Eric said quickly running off in the direction of outdoors, causing Carlotta to chuckle a little. Not long before, that man was once a boy who had a knack for causing trouble. Oh, his parents had a lot to deal with for the 16 years!

"Ariel? Ariel!" Eric said, cupping his hands to make his call sound further. He waited a moment, but all that was heard was the gentle lapping of the waves, and his heavy sigh. He had half an hour before dinner; and before the castle started to worry where the young couple may be. If he could find Ariel in half an hour, it would be a miracle. But he had defeated the sea witch, he could find his wife.

Ariel was still curled in her fetal position at the beach, tears falling from her face. Eric's word's echoed in her mind, making her cry harder, but also quieter, for fear of being caught. When her tears eventually subsided, she stuck her feet into the cool water, and then let her entire body get soaked.

The sea, her first home, everything she'd ever known was down there, was she really cut out to be a Queen on land? Queen. That word still sounded strange in her mind. She'd always excepted when she was younger that Attina would become Queen and she'd be....that's where her expectations had always stopped.

What would she be when she was older? Thoughtful and smart like Attina? Flirty like Adella? Obsessed with always looking good like Alana? Sporty like Aquata? Funny like Andrina? Slow like Arista? She would look at her older sisters in awe and admiration, but they would just pass it off as her being annoying. She had wondered and wondered upon that question until her last day as a mermaid, and then it had seemed clear how life would be. But fate has a way of twisting things so that they are hanging on a thread, and then they would fall off.

She didn't want to give up the human world just yet, so after Eric probably ended their marriage, she might travel around the human world. How, her mind asked her bitterly. She'd have no idea where to go, what to do, how to act, who to talk to, and she'd be alone. If all else failed, she could go back to Atlantica.....the place she had longed to leave for the land just a month earlier. A month. She could say her marriage lasted a month before....before it all came crashing down.

The worst part of this; she still loved him. But he didn't love her, his 'dream girl'. All he had to do was break her heart and then she was left with nothing but pieces. In her mind, Ariel tried to review the fight, see where it had started, how it begun.

_Eric and Ariel were sitting on their favorite couch in the library, contentedly reading before Eric set down the book, rubbing his eyes. _

_"Ugh, all that talk of a baby has gotten me exhausted." He said quietly, to an almost silent Ariel as she thought about that sentence. The book he had been reading to his wife quietly was an old book of nursery rhymes, which Ariel always thought were silly but cute in a way. _

_"I think it's cute how they use children's rhymes to talk about babies." Ariel said softly and Eric sighed, but nodded. _

_"It's cute when you first read it. After reading that line over a million times, it gets to be annoying." Eric said with a little annoyance in his voice. He was just somewhat tired after reading rhyme after rhyme about babies, plus it had been an exhausting day for him. His head was pounding like a drum, and all he wanted right now was for some quiet. Maybe he could distract Ariel so she would stop adding to his headache....hm...._

_"Eric cut it out." Ariel said, shaking his lips off her neckline as he started to tug on the sleeve of her dress to pull it down just a bit further...._

_"Fine. Then get off of me." Eric said shaking her head off his chest. Why wouldn't she just kiss him back and shut up? Better reasoning tried to tell him that he was overreacting to such a small thing, but that just made his head pound even louder, which put him in a worse mood._

_"I know you're not in the best mood....why don't you take a nap before dinner?" Ariel said, scooting off of his chest and to the other side of the couch. He was already starting to sound mad...maybe she should just leave him be. He was always a little cranky when he was tired. _

_"I don't want to take a nap." Eric growled, frustrated as his temper rose. His brain immediately started trying to calm down, telling him this was over nothing, but he had an awful temper sometimes, although he really did try to not show it. Ah, the headache was getting worse with every sound he heard! Why wouldn't Ariel just be a little quiet for a bit so he could get rid of this blasted migraine?_

_"Well, then what do you want to do?" Ariel asked carefully, getting off the couch and walking over to some shelves to look at the books. She started to shuffle some of the books around, oblivious to Eric's migraine and how the noises she was making were adding to it. But Eric was growing snappier and angrier with every noise, mostly because his headache, exhaustion, and everything else was catching up with him. After a particularly loud noise of a book falling to the ground made his head scream in agony, his fist balled up, and he said it. _

_"I want to know why you didn't open your mouth earlier, that way I wouldn't be married to a bitch like you." _

It seemed like she had done nothing wrong there, but still. His words were cold, driving a stake right through her heart, and she got out of the water, and back to the sand. She sat on the sand, and burst into tears again. She gave up the entire life she had ever known just to be human, and then it turns out Eric doesn't love her. That hurt, it hurt worse than anything she had ever known. Ariel curled up into a little ball again and just cried as rain started to pour from the sky, almost as if it knew how she felt.

She might have been heartbroken, but she wasn't stupid. If she stayed out in the storm she'd get sick, and being sick was no fun. With that in mind, Ariel stood up, still sobbing, and started to walk towards the castle. She would just stay in another room, far from Eric, she reasoned, not paying attention to the ground in front of her.

A rock popped out from nowhere, and Ariel didn't see it through the rain and her tears. Her foot connected with the solid object sharply, and her entire body went down. As her head landed on the sand, it scraped against a rusted old nail, perhaps from a shipwreck long ago, she cut from the end of her left eye to a little in her hair, and the skin just scraped clean off.

Ariel winced, sitting up straight now, and she put her hand to her pounding forehead, to stop the pain. That only made the side of her face sting terribly, which made her wary as to what had happened. She gently touched the side of her face with her slender fingers, and opened her eyes wide when she realized there was no skin there. Blood was spurting from the open wound, and Ariel panicked, not knowing what to do besides go to the castle and get the doctor to fix it.

She started to run at full speed to the castle, but of course tripped over the hem of her dress, her forehead connecting with a loud SMACK! Against a monster of a rock. Her vision started to become blurry then, her eyes closing against all the pain. She suddenly felt tired, and before she could tell her body to do anything, she was on the sand, passed out in the storm.


	3. Chapter 3

"Ariel! Ariel!" Eric's voice was lost to the storm that was raging outside. He wanted to go out into the storm and look for her, bring her back, make sure she was alright, but he could barely take a step outside without the wind almost knocking him off his feet. He wouldn't really have cared though, but Carlotta and Grimsby were keeping extremely close eyes on him, making sure that he didn't dare go out into the storm. They had no clue where Ariel might be, but they at least knew where Eric was.

It was close to midnight now, he _was_ getting tired. But the thought of Ariel, cold, lost, scared out in that storm drove him mad and through the entire night he didn't sleep a wink. Did something happen to her? Surely she wasn't mad enough (and he meant mad in both a sane and angry way) to be out in a storm the entire night! Didn't she know that she could be angry all she wanted with him, refuse to sleep in the same bed with him if she liked, and she could just sleep in a guest room?! These were the thoughts that haunted him all night.

When dawn finally appeared, Eric, already awake, jumped out of bed and into a pair of slacks and a shirt so he could find Ariel quickly and bring her back. The only thing that mattered to him right now was her safety. He had wanted to go out right away outside to look for Ariel, but Carlotta persuaded him into at least waiting 'till after breakfast to try to find her, saying that if Ariel had been fine throughout the storm, she'd be fine for another hour. Besides, it would be better to search for her on a full stomach. Eric had reluctantly agreed to this, but was happy once breakfast was over so he could search for his wife....wherever she might be.

"Ariel! Ari-el!" Eric called out, walking along the shore line of the beach, with Max at his heels. He sighed heavily as no answer came back to him, and then brightened as he looked at his dog.

"Max, go find Ariel." Eric ordered, knowing that his dog knew what he meant. And Max did. He knew Ariel's scent since the day of his best friend's birthday; she shouldn't be too hard to find.

Putting his nose to the sand, Max started to try to sniff out her particular scent, which actually smelled extremely lovely to him. No, that's a sea gull.....his scent.....Eric's scent....water....ah! He caught it! Excitedly, the giant dog started to run after it, Eric shouting at his heels for him to slow down. He should be reaching her....now! There she was! Sleeping? Hm, strange, but then again, she was prone to do strange things. The dog shrugged it off, and started licking his Master's mate with happiness.

"Hm?" Ariel groaned out, opening her eyes to a pink tongue licking at her face. Max. She gave herself a small amused grin before trying to push him away. She was too weak though, and she only made the dog loose his footing for a second, but he regained it quickly.

Then the memory of the previous day hit her, and almost immediately her eyes began to water with tears. But she bit her lip to not let a single one fall, and for once she was successful. Taking deep breaths in between being licked, she tried to sit up in the sand, but her arms gave out from under her, and she fell right back down, face first on the hot sand.

"Ariel! There you are! Max, you knuckle head, leave her alone!" Eric said, pulling the dog off of his wife. Max did a sort of dog pout, but obediently sat on the sand, staring as the scene unfolded before him. "Ariel I was so worried! I didn't know where you were, what had happened to you....did you spend the entire night out here?! Through that storm?! How do you feel? Oh Ariel, thank goodness your alright." Eric said with a sigh of relief, looking into the exhausted blue eyes of his wife. They didn't hold that spark of happiness, or that twinkle of rebellion that they usually had, they just looked......sad. But Eric could care less as he leaned down to press his lips upon hers. Ariel's eyes got wide and flashed with anger as she weakly put up her hands as a shield against his lips, and he pulled back, worried beyond extreme.

"Ariel, your hair. It's got blood in it.....wow." It was the only word Eric could use to describe the absence of skin and what looked like an infected cut that was on the side of her face. His breath caught in his throat, but he kept a calm composure outwardly to not alarm her. That's when he realized she still hadn't said a word to him. She was as quiet as the first day he saw her in a sail cloth.

"Ariel, speak! What's wrong?" Eric asked worriedly, helping her sit up. She took his offered arm reluctantly but purposely looked away from him as if to send him an idea. "Ah, I see. Your giving me the silent treatment, aren't you?" When he got a nod in return, an amused grin touched his lips. She wouldn't last an hour; he knew that for a fact. Talking was the one thing Ariel did easily in both land and sea

"Alright then, I'll go along with it. But I'm taking you to the castle to get that cut looked at and then you're going to sleep, understand?" Eric said in a serious tone, and got a sigh and nod in response.

He didn't think she could walk back to the castle as tired and horrible she looked, but somehow she managed to get on her legs shakily and walk without tripping through the sand, up the stairs, and into the castle.

"Oh poor child! Shaking like a leaf, and running an awful fever. Poor thing...." Carlotta murmured sympathetically, fussing over the teenaged Queen as Eric brought her through the door. Undeniably, everyone had been worried about where she had been, and Carlotta was no exception. "Come on dear, you're going to take a nice warm bath first, and then go right to sleep." She said, taking Ariel's arm and leading her through the halls easily. For some reason or another, the girl wasn't arguing for once; maybe she was just too exhausted from sleeping the entire night outside, in that _awful_ storm.

Eric watched with protected eyes as he saw Carlotta take Ariel away to be bathed. He looked down at Max and gave his companion a tired grin. Ariel was running a fever, Carlotta had picked up on it the minute she walked into the room, plus she was shivering. Eric sighed, knowing that the minute she came out of the bathroom, it would be a battle with her to go to sleep, have the doctor take a look at that infected cut.....it wouldn't be fun, let's just say.

"Tsk, this dress is all wet! No wonder you're shivering." Carlotta mused disapprovingly as she untied the back of the dress for Ariel, who just gave a weak nod in return. The dress fell to the floor in a matter of moments, and Ariel eased out of her under garments which were also, soaking wet. Gingerly, she stepped into the bath, only to yelp when she felt the water.

"It's hot." Ariel whimpered, taking her foot out of the water quickly, but Carlotta only dismissed her with a wave of the hand.

"It will stop your shivering and help with your fever. Come on dear, go in." Carlotta said, gently pushing her into the bath. Ariel sighed, but knowing Carlotta was probably right, stepped into the bath reluctantly.

"Oh my. That's an awful cut. Poor child." Carlotta murmured sympathetically to Ariel, who in turned closed her eyes against the pounding in her head. She took a clip and gently clipped back Ariel's hair so that the cut could be seen well, and it didn't get in the way of her long red hair.

Ariel could feel Carlotta trying to scrub around the giant cut; probably her face was full of dirt and dried blood, or at least that's what Carlotta kept saying sympathetically. Her head was tilted backwards as Carlotta scrubbed at it, and Ariel, for once, didn't complain. But she _did_ whimper and tried to pull away when an especially sensitive and hurtful part of her skin near the cut was scrubbed at one point, but it was to no avail.

"Don't move dear, it will just make this worse." Carlotta chided gently, pulling the teen's head back to where it had been originally.

The cut was infected, from what Carlotta could tell. Plus the child had been in a rainstorm, probably scared and cold all night long. And to add to the cut, she had a fairly big bump on her forehead, and her left eye was starting to bruise up into a black eye.

"You shouldn't run off like that dear, poor Eric was scared half out of his mind when he couldn't find you anywhere! I can't believe you spent the entire--close your eyes dear, yes just like that--the entire night out in the storm! You could catch pneumonia or worse! As it is you hurt yourself pretty badly from--close your eyes again child--from whatever happened to you. And you're running a fever, tsk; you have to be more careful!" Carlotta's gentle reprimand rang out and Ariel opened her eyes and repressed a sigh.

"I am careful." Ariel's weak protest came from her lips, before she could stop it.

"But not careful enough." The housekeeper stressed disapprovingly. "You scared everyone! You didn't even tell a single soul where you would be!" Carlotta said, pursing her lips disapprovingly at the young queen. Carlotta saw her as more of a teenage girl with a knack for getting in trouble though.

Ariel bit her lip and hung her head, tears of shame filling her eyes. Carlotta's expression softened upon seeing this; she knew that Ariel hated to worry anyone. She really tried to be careful, but it didn't always work out.

"Now now honey, don't cry. Everyone just wants the best for you. No need for tears dear." Carlotta soothed, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly. Ariel sniffled miserably, but didn't let a single tear fall from her face, not wanting to seem like a baby.

"Out of the bath with you now, let's get you dried off and into bed." Carlotta said to the teenager gently, and helping her dry off and get into a nice warm nightgown. She was going to sleep right away; with that fever no time should be wasted. Carlotta helped the girl into her dressing gown, which of course Ariel complained was not necessary, and Carlotta just chided her about 'how necessary it was'. Then she was off to find Eric.

"Here she is, all scrubbed down." Carlotta said, handing Ariel off to Eric as if she was some sort of present instead of an actual living thing. She hated being treated like a child, but everyone was always so protective over her! As Ariel thought this, her legs finally gave out from underneath her, and she started to fall to the floor.

Before even a single hair of hers touched the floor, Eric grabbed hold of his wife, and lifted her up into his arms. If she wasn't giving him the silent treatment, Ariel would have protested extremely, Eric knew. She hated being carried, she thought that made legs officially useless if she was, and she had a point. Just not a point enough that Eric cared what she thought; if she was too weak, he would carry her. His rules, not hers.

"Here we are." Eric said, placing Ariel on their bed with ease. Ariel purposely turned her head away from him, and her gaze fell on....the doctor, who was already taking things out of his black bag. She frowned; scared of what shot she'd have to take _this_ time. It seemed as though every time the doctor had to see her (and it was often since she tripped a lot), he had a new shot that he said she would need as a human. Eric would usually just grin and say that he had to take that shot when he was a child, and would hold her when she saw the shot. She hated needles, hated them, hated them, and hated them.

"I'll need to stitch up that wound up, it's really infected. Do you remember what exactly you hit your head on to get that, your majesty?" The Doctor asked taking something's out of his bag. Ariel gulped as she saw that one of the articles was a needle but she focused her mind on the question.

"An old nail that was really big and rusty." Ariel answered nervously watching as a shot was taken out of the bag.

"You'll need to get a tetanus booster then, to stop from further infection then, your majesty." The doctor confirmed, and Eric sighed, as if he knew where this was going. Gently, Eric reached over and tugged at Ariel's nightgown so her arm muscle on the right arm was fully exposed. Ariel looked up at Eric but he kept his expression guarded.

"Alright, here we go." The doctor murmured to Ariel, and in a moment, she went from totally confused, to having a shot in her arm. She looked at the thing in her arm and her face went pale. She closed her eyes again; trying not to pass out. Eric tentatively intertwined his hand with hers, to let her know it would be fine, but she turned her head sharply and gave him such a cold look that he decided not to do that again.

Once the shot was done, Ariel learned what 'stitching up that wound' meant, and she almost started crying from the pain of it all. It hurt, it was awful, and it was going to help her. But she still felt like crap so she didn't know how much it was going to help.

"At least I found you and put you to bed quickly." Eric murmured to Ariel, echoing the doctor's words. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth tightened as she looked at him, so Eric could get the message she was mad.

"I'm here because you're forcing me to be. If it was up to me I'd still be at the beach." Her cold words mixed with her melodic voice made his heart almost break. So beautiful....and yet so stubborn.

"Right, at the beach with an infected wound, and high fever." Eric snorted, keeping his tone light as to not get into another fight with Ariel. She sighed but said nothing to his words, knowing that they were right.

"I'm still mad at you." The words came out in a blurted rush, and she turned her head so that she was looking at the wall, and not him.

"Just let me say this Ariel." Eric said impatiently, sighing. "Do you honestly think I could bring myself to regret marrying you? Ariel, you saved me from drowning, you had the sea witch take away your voice just to be with me, you left the only life you ever knew to come and live as a human with me....how could I regret marrying you after all you did for me? I love you darling, more than the stars and moon combined, I was just so _mad_ that I blurted the first thing that came to mind! I'm sorry I hurt you, and I'm sorry for what I said times a hundred thousand. Forgive me?" The words rushed out of Eric's mouth in a blurted manor, and Ariel just looked tiredly at him, as though he talking took all of her energy away.

Fighting with Eric really wasn't the way to do things, and really she was just tired and cold from the night before. She sighed once, thinking about all these things passing through her head. She was ready to forgive him; she had been since he had found her passed out on the beach, and if it got her to sleep quicker than she was willing to do anything.

"_If_ I forgive you, does that mean no more shots for me?" She asked him aloud, smiling a cozy little smile tiredly at him.

"Unless a new one is made, than no. That was the last, I promise." Eric said back, smiling Ariel's favorite crooked smile. He relaxed somewhat, an invisible weight lifting off his strong shoulders, and he brought up a hand to smooth out Ariel's hair a bit.

"Then I forgive you." Ariel said, the corners of her mouth tugging into a smile. Staring into Eric's blue eyes intently, she took the hand he had smoothing out her hair, and brought it down into her lap. Still staring into his eyes, she tugged at his wrist so that he would come closer to her on the bed, and when he was close enough, she pressed her lips against his. He pulled away after a moment, amusement clear on his face, and Ariel pouted, wanting the kiss to go on longer.

"You need to rest; you're running a fever." Eric said hoping that she didn't pick up on the fact that he wanted to give her more kisses.

"Will you stay with me?" Ariel's voice asked, thick with tiredness as Eric gently pushed her down to the pillows of the bed. He started to tuck the bed sheets around her, but when he saw that she was still shivering, he grabbed a blanket and swabbed her in it, like she was in a cocoon of sorts.

"Shh, rest my darling." Eric soothed, brushing away a tendril of her red hair from her face.

"Love you." Ariel whispered out, as she finally fell asleep on the pillows. Eric had a small grin on his face, and then he sighed, stroking his unconscious wife's hair. She didn't look like the Ariel he knew when asleep. Her face all stitched up, a black eye, a bump on her forehead....it really was awful to look at her.

"I love you too, my little mermaid." Eric said, using the loving name that he so often teased her with. Her hair wasn't laced with blood anymore; Carlotta had scrubbed Ariel down good. Her face, the parts that weren't stitched or bruised or bumped, was shining and smelled strongly of soap. Eric grinned a little, knowing how Carlotta could be when it came to Ariel. She had a sort of maternal relationship with both Eric and Ariel, which usually landed Ariel under a lecture since Eric knew how to get around them by now.

Eric noticed that Ariel was still shivering, and a deep frown touched his lips. Her breathing was irregular, and he felt her forehead worriedly. The fever was still the same, as much as he could tell. He sighed deeply, and reached for another blanket, this one thicker than the last. He swabbed her in it, and watched as finally her shivering stopped. It was his fault that she was so sick, he had made her go to the beach and then she had hit her head and lost her consciousness. That storm....how had she even just slept through it?

"I'm so sorry." Eric finally murmured to her, running his hand along her cheek. He loved her so much, and hated to see her so hurt. She was always getting hurt somehow, but _this_, this was awful.


	4. Chapter 4

Morning came and with it Ariel finally woke up, surprised to not feel like crap. Her face hurt where the stitches were, but other than that she didn't feel that bad. She took a look at Eric beside her, sleeping peacefully and a small smile lifted up on the corners of her mouth. Gently, she disentangled herself from the blankets and then walked towards the balcony of their room and then opened the door gently and walked outside.

Her hands gripped the balcony rail easily and the wind flew at her face. It was cool outside, not hot like it usually was. Strange. She furrowed her eyebrows at the new weather change, but then shook it off as nothing.

"You're so beautiful when you have bed head." A warm voice laughed, wrapping his strong arms around her petite waist, and resting his head on top of hers.

"Oh! Eric, you startled me!" Ariel laughed, tilting her head up and wrapping her arms around his neck. She waited until after Eric kissed her to see if she would be escaping from her room today.

"Can I please do something other than stay in our room all day?" Ariel's clear voice rang out, and Eric frowned deeply, leading her back into the room. Ariel's blue eyes shone with happiness at the thought of getting out of the room, but frowned when Eric put his hand on her forehead. Accidently, he touched the spot where her bump was, and Ariel dug her nails into her skin to keep from crying out in pain.

"Sorry." Eric said quickly, sitting her on the edge of the bed. He tenderly kissed the spot where her bump was and she looked up at him, surprised.

"Why did you do that?" She inquired, furrowing her eyebrows carefully, as to not upset her injuries.

"To make the pain go away. It's what my mother used to do to me when I hurt myself." Eric said with a warm smile. He sat on the edge of the bed with his wife and intertwined his hand with hers.

"These human things are so confusing. Sometimes I just feel so....stupid." Ariel said with a sigh, frowning. But Eric did nothing more than give her a small laugh, but upon seeing that she wasn't amused smothered it. He squeezed her hand in comfort, and his eyes were full of remorse.

"You're not stupid Ariel; you're just....not _accustomed_ to life above the surface." Eric said, using his words carefully. Ariel said, nothing, but kicked at an invisible rock on the floor.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway. I'm not sick, so can I please do something today?" Ariel asked, resting her head on Eric's shoulder. He smiled gently at her, and moved her body so that her head was resting on his lap, but she was still facing up to see his face.

"I don't want you to...." Eric murmured, and Ariel pouted up at him.

"I'm not sick, and I want to go outside. Please?!" Ariel whined, causing Eric to sigh heavily. He would hate for her to get anymore sick, but she wasn't running a fever as far as he could tell....

"I guess. But wear your cloak; it's already starting to turn into fall. Did you notice how some of the tree leaves have been turning red and orange and even yellow? I don't want you to get sick." Eric explained, dipping down to kiss his wife's lips tenderly.

"I'm not going to get sick, and besides, it's not even that cold out." It was a lie, they both knew it. But finally, after bribing Ariel with a horseback ride, she finally agreed to wear her cloak.

"Pull your hood up Ariel." Eric said, circling her on his horse, Brownie. Ariel's horse was named Strawberry; Eric always made sure that she rode the old mare because she wouldn't go to fast, and knock off Ariel. She _did_ have a horse of her own; Stormy she had named the young foal. The hyper foal was still a _foal_ though, so for now she was riding Strawberry.

. "I'm afraid to let go of these reigns though." Ariel answered, and Eric chuckled, but pulled up Brownie beside Strawberry and pushed up her hood for her. Eric was wearing his cloak as well, but he didn't really care about his hood. He was more concerned for his wife's well being than his own.

The ride was fun, at least for Ariel whose eyes shone as she took in all the sights and new things she hadn't seen before. Soon, the ride through town had to end, and the young couple had to go back inside as the weather turned foul.

"It's raining! Be careful where you step Ariel, you might---never mind." Eric shook his wet hair out and gently helped up a wet and muddy Ariel. At least he wasn't getting that wet, but Ariel....she was.....she was just being her curious self. Skipping in the rain to Eric's amusement....and falling into the mud to his discontent.

"Oops, sorry Eric." Ariel said with a giggle, taking Eric's offered hand and standing up. She grinned widely at his chagrin; she was going to get it from Carlotta, no doubt. But for now she was just going to enjoy it....until she got in trouble.

"Let's just get you inside before you slip again." Eric said with a sigh, leading Ariel through the back doors to get inside of the castle. He had to smile in spite of himself at Ariel's expression, which was curious, of course.

"I don't think I'm going to get in trouble." Ariel murmured to Eric softly, slipping easily through the castle as though nothing had happened. Eric had taught her how to sneak around, since he had been doing it since he was a child. She had caught on quickly, and now, she was an expert. But Carlotta caught her sneaking around, so that meant she still had a lot to learn.

"Oh look at you! You're all wet and filthy!" Carlotta said disapprovingly to Ariel. She looked for comfort to Eric, who gave her a wink and slipped away, leaving her alone with Carlotta. Ariel didn't see where he had gone, because Carlotta grabbed her wrist and led her through the castle....to her dressing room. Sigh.

"Let's get these clothes off of you now. Tsk, how on earth are you still standing?" Carlotta wondered, helping the teen out of her wet dress and undergarments. Ariel was wrapped in a towel, and she sat down on the vanity as Carlotta fussed about her hair.

"My hair is impossible; I still don't understand why you try to control it." Ariel murmured resting her head against her hands. Carlotta chuckled lightly, but didn't stop pulling at the girl's hair.

"You're going to catch your death in these storms one of these days, do you realize that?" Carlotta asked, shaking her head and sighing.

"I don't see how." Ariel grumbled, and Carlotta lifted a brow and the side of her mouth twitched.

"It's just an expression hon, don't get so offended." Carlotta said to the teenager gently, brushing out her hair.

"I'm not offended, really I'm not. I'm just...I don't know.....frustrated that I can't ever do anything right in this world. I feel so _stupid_." Ariel admitted, sighing as she stared hard at her reflection in the mirror.

"Dear, you're not stupid." Carlotta said, kissing the girl's head in comfort. "And it's not your fault that you're so new to being a human. It's only been--what a month? -- since you were...._became_ a human. You don't know that many things, but don't fret honey, you'll get the hang of it soon enough." Carlotta said comfortingly, and Ariel sighed again, letting her words sink in. It was comforting advice to know that she was right, but still.

"I guess." Ariel said, still downcast. Carlotta noticed this right away, and decided to switch gears on the subject so she didn't feel so sad. The child was trying hard to fit in, but it was something she just wasn't accustomed to. Oh, the girl knew that gossip filled the streets and the castle about her, but she didn't know what they actually said, and Carlotta hoped the girl never did find out. It would break her fragile heart, and that would just be awful.

"There." Carlotta said, finally putting the brush down on the vanity. "You see, and you said that it was impossible to control." Carlotta said with an amused smile. Ariel tried to grin back, and it worked. She broke out of her little moment and then got dressed quickly before she got to go back and see Eric.


	5. Chapter 5

Fall was over in a flash, and for Eric, seeing his wife run into pile of leaves was the most amusing thing he'd seen in a long time. She was like a young child, always so curious and asking questions to everything. Why did the leaves fall off? Why did they turn red? Did it happen every year? Eric had been glad to answer those questions for her, and explain little things that she didn't understand. Like, the Halloween ball, or what Halloween _was_ for that matter.

But still, his love for his wife grew more and more as he saw her each day, having fun in a childish way that he had so long ago not even considered fun. But it was more fun with Ariel, she always made the games interesting and exciting for him so that he was always challenged. Her smile was the brighter than the sun her eyes the brightest color and the most beautiful....ah, being around Ariel was like fun year long.

But of course, it wasn't all fun and games for the young couple. They were king and queen, and had people to meet, meetings to attend; in truth it was boring work. Ariel didn't care though, and tried as hard as she could not to mess up somehow. She could see member's of the earls and dukes and lords' faces as they were first introduced to her.....they always seemed so scared and shifty. All of them.

Ariel had asked Eric, but his only answer on the subject was 'Meeting new people is hard.' His tone ended the conversation right there. She had tried to ask Carlotta, who in turn had just said that it was 'Nothing she needed to concern herself over'. Even Grimsby didn't even tell her, he just said that 'It was just nerves.'

Still, Ariel wasn't satisfied with these answers. If no one would tell her the truth, than she would find out herself. The teenager knew, like most, how to be invisible when she wanted to be, and she did just that. Hiding in small closet's like a child, or in small spaces that no one even bothered to look at. Here's where she found the rumors about her.

They were awful, no doubt. One said that she had killed her former lover for teasing her under the sea, and as a result was banished, so she made her way up to the surface. Another stated that she had violent mood swings and was prone to throw things at people if they talked to her. The very worst one: She found out she was pregnant, and tried to kill her by sleeping through the storm outside. (The couple decided that no one needed to know about that little fight, and had just said that Ariel fell when she saw it was getting dark, and had a concussion.)

Oh the girl knew that rumors still swirled about her, but she had never known they were _that_ bad. No wonder those people were always afraid when they met her; they thought she would hurt them! Instead of finding this funny, she found it heartbreaking. But she wasn't a baby, and she wouldn't cry. She would be strong, she had to be. So wiping the few tears that had formed in her eyes quickly, and waited a few minutes so her breath was calm and she was composed.

With an ease that some would find irritating, Ariel climbed out of the small hiding spot and peeked at the clock. It was nearing dinner; plus she'd barely seen Eric all day. He'd get worried if she didn't go to dinner; but then again, when he was not worried for her safety. A soft smile played on her lips as she forced the rumors out of her head, making sure she blocked them from coming out.

Dinner passed, and Ariel made sure she acted out the part that everything was fine. Perhaps she acted out her part a little _too_ well. Eric watched her intently, but he didn't ask what it was about her that was a little off. She could see him thinking it over in his head, but his expression stayed calm and a little mischievous, like always.

Dinner ended, and without a word to her, Eric grabbed Ariel's hand and led her to their room. He knew something was wrong with her, she was too....calm. She was always excited, happy, and ready at a moment's notice to dance. But this, this Ariel he could barely tolerate. She was so....adult like. It made him want to shudder. Ariel wasn't an adult, she was...._Ariel_. Childlike, exuberant, wonderful, kind, funny Ariel is what she was. Not calm, cool, collected Ariel. Ick, that Ariel was horrible.

"What's wrong?" Ariel asked with real concern in her voice. She could see it, Eric struggling to keep his anger in check as he sat her down on their bed and he stared at her intently. She watched him with innocent eyes, hoping that his anger was controlled completely.

"You." Eric muttered out, sighing as he broke off his gaze with his wife for a moment.

"Me? What did I do?" Ariel asked, her brows furrowing. Eric let out a breath and leaned against the wall, keeping his gaze on Ariel.

"You're so....not you." Eric said with a frown and a sigh, and Ariel feigned surprise. But Eric could see through that easily, and Ariel upon realizing this, sighed herself and flopped back on the bed. She felt Eric move himself on the bed, and start playing with the ends of her hair.

"I'm just a little tired, that's all Eric." Ariel lied out, knowing full well that she was an awful liar. She'd always been and would probably always be. And with Eric it was worse because lying to him actually hurt her.

"Darling, please. I know you to well for your lies to work, and if you're sad I want to help you be happy again. Tell me what's wrong." Eric said in a soft voice, gently stroking her hair.

"It's nothing." Ariel tried again at an attempt for him to leave her alone, but that was not to be.

"Ariel, just tell me." Eric urged, and Ariel finally sighed heavily. He knew he had won the battle, and that she would tell him what was bothering her now....hopefully all of it.

"I heard the rumors about me." It was the only thing she could say before she almost cried. But she dug her nails into her arm to keep from letting even one tear escape her composure. She didn't want to be a baby; no she wasn't going to cry. At least, she wouldn't cry when people were around to hear.

"I'm so sorry." Eric said softly, moving her body so that it was like he was cradling her. "I didn't want you to hear them."

"They're not very nice." Ariel said quietly, letting herself get wrapped up in Eric's embrace. Under the sea she had been a princess, yes, but it was so....informal. No one cared about that tiny detail; to them she was just another headstrong teenager. But on land it was so much tougher, people always judging her in ways she didn't even think possible. They didn't say a word to her face, but she could see it in their eyes as she walked passed them and smiled.

"Rumor's never are." Eric said to his love, who was keeping calm about the whole thing. It didn't seem like her. He would have thought she would cry, feel bad, but she was just shaking it off as nothing. "But thankfully, rumors are never true. Their just made up stories by people without anything else to do." Eric said gently, and was surprised when he saw a small grin reach Ariel's lips.

"That rhymed." She said with a bigger grin, her blue eyes slowly starting to shine a bit.

"You were just paying attention to me to see if I rhymed?" He teased, a smile working itself onto his lips. His blue eyes watched as she laughed lightly and nodded teasingly.

"Why else would I listen to my husband?" She asked with a steady smile that hurt her face. She was putting on bravado, for Eric's sake. She knew how to act, how to tease him so he didn't suspect a thing. Inside of her, her heart was breaking at how awful the rumors were. She couldn't kill anyone, much less a merman. She didn't even know how people could get into violent moods, and if she was mad, she was able to keep some control over it so she didn't hurt anyone. And her being pregnant....how does one even _become_ pregnant in the human world?

"Why else indeed?" Eric asked her in a musing voice, leaning down to kiss her lips tenderly. Ariel smiled as she put her hands around his neck, and welcomed his embrace. She loved Eric, but she didn't want to let him know what she was actually thinking.

"Do you want to go to the library darling?" Eric's gentle voice asked, and he smiled when he felt Ariel nod her head like a child. He moved her off of his lap and got up from the bed, extending a hand to her in the process, like a gentleman. Ariel looked at his hand, then at him, and grinned.

"I think I can get up all by myself Eric." She said with a teasing laugh, jumping off of the bed with her usual glow of happiness. It wasn't real. To Eric, it might have seemed as though she felt much better, but in reality she felt as though so many things were happening at once, and she couldn't keep up with them.

"Just being a gentleman." He reminded her as they walked towards the library. Maybe, if only for awhile, she could drown out the pounding in her of everything that was happening in her head if Eric read aloud to her.

"That's why I love you." She reminded him, as he flashed her a cocky grin and opened the doors to the library for her easily. She sat on their favorite comfortable couch in the big room, while Eric searched for something to read. The hours they had spent in here, just reading. Ariel wasn't much of a big reader, but somehow when Eric read aloud to her, it felt as if she was on some kind of adventure, exploring new places.

"Ah, here we go." He murmured finally, taking a book out of its shelf. Ariel stared at him, puzzled, and he smiled gently, sitting down beside her, and letting his wife rest her head against his chest.

"What's the story called?" Ariel asked, running her fingers across the book. Hopefully it was something good and it would get her mind away from these troubled thoughts.

"It's called '_The Wizard of Oz_.' Trust me; it's a fantastic story....so imaginative!" Eric said in a gentle but happy voice. So Ariel heard him read aloud, letting her mind wander through this Land of Oz. But it only took a bit before Ariel's troubling thoughts came back, haunting her.

She'd barely seen her sisters, her father, Flounder, or Sebastian in the past weeks. Scuttle was the only one of her old friends that she saw now, but he had told her at least a week ago that he was flying south for the winter. Winter? They didn't have a winter under the water. She hadn't seen him since. It was definitely homesickness that made her sad, plus the fact that now she knew about these rumors and what they said. The rumors had brought out her true feelings. Of course, she loved Eric, and she loved being human more than anything....but not seeing everyone in so long was taking its toll on the queen. Well, more teenager than queen really. Queens don't miss people, teenagers do.

"Ariel, are you still awake?" Eric's whispered voice brought Ariel back to the present as she looked around the library. The only source of light was the candle that was lit beside Eric on a small table. She looked at the grandfather clock and realized that it was already 10:30. Hm.

"I'm awake." Ariel yawned, and Eric chuckled lightly as he set the book down.

"We should go to sleep." Eric's soft voice said, and to Ariel, that seemed like a good plan. She could sneak out, if only for a moment and just go down to the beach and feel the waves crash against her bare feet in the full moon. Ah, that would be nice.

"Okay." She said in a tired voice, to not lead him onto her plan. Eric smiled lightly at his young wife, and grabbed hold of the candle. He led her through the halls he knew so well to his--_their_ room. He looked back at his wife, who was tiredly walking with him, her blue eyes starting to close from sleepiness. He smiled at her, his wonderful little mermaid, and closed the door behind them in their room.

"You look like you need a goodnights sleep." Eric murmured to her, changing into his nightclothes as Ariel changed into her nightgown.

"I'm just really tired." Her words were thick with sleepiness, and Eric watched her with gentleness in his eyes. The minute her nightgown was on, she flopped on the bed and started to sleep.

"Goodnight love." Eric whispered, kissing her forehead before tucking her into the sheets. He climbed in the bed with her and started to fall asleep himself, his arm wrapped around her small waist lovingly.

Ariel waited until she knew for a fact that Eric was asleep, before gently placing his arm off of her waist and onto the bed. Almost as if she had never been there before, she slid from the bed and onto the cool wooden floor. She walked on her toes out the door, glancing briefly back at a sleeping Eric, before sighing and continuing out the door of her room.

Ariel might have thought she was being sneaky, but she wasn't sneaky enough. As soon as Eric felt his arm being placed on the bed, his mind immediately woke up, and his eyes flew open. He wasn't a heavy sleeper; little things could wake him easily.

He watched as Ariel got up from the bed slowly, trying not to wake him. He was curious as to what she was doing, but kept quiet trying to see what she was up to. She looked back for a moment, and Eric quickly shut his eyes as to not lead her on. He heard her sigh heavily, and then moments later, her feet, barely making a sound, and then the door closing softly behind her. Where was she going? Well, Eric was going to find out.

Jumping up quickly from the bed, he grabbed a cloak before going after his wife, and then followed her silently through the silent castle; the only light in the darkness of the castle was the full moon shining through the windows brightly.

Ariel hurried to one of the many exits that lead to the sea, steering around certain doors or places she knew wouldn't lead her anywhere. She was a fast learner, and had picked up on where most places were in the new castle in no time. She knew no one was following her; Eric had been fast asleep when she left, and it was too late for anyone to care about anything more than sleep.

As soon as her feet felt the cool sand, Ariel gave a deep sigh. She let her legs carry her to where the waves met the land, and she sat down, letting them lap gently against her feet. It felt wonderful, to be so connected to the sea again, but yet still be human. The water was cold against her warm skin, and she became aware of the cold air all around her. Thick cold air. Oh well, it wasn't that big a deal anyway.

"_Oh the waves roll low  
And the waves roll high and so it goes  
Under a bright blue endless sky  
Waves try to measure  
The days that we treasure  
Wave hello and wave goodbye_." Ariel sang softly to herself, trying to picture her mother. Any memories she had of her were hazy, mostly fragments of a memory that she couldn't quite grasp. Attina had always told herthat their mother looked just like Ariel, but with not so much a vibrant red color. And her tail wasn't a green; it was more like turquoise color, like the sea on a calm sunny day.

The thought of her mother somehow led to the thought of those rumors. She wasn't like that, they weren't true. But she had only heard three different and ugly rumors, more were probably out there. That thought let her tears finally fall from her eyes, and onto the sand.

It wasn't fair! She hadn't done a thing wrong to deserve such lies about her! The way they cut her, it hurt so much. Being away for so long from her sister's and father, plus the rumors just hurt her heart to the point where she thought it was broken. She had done none of those things, so why did the rumors hurt her? Surely if she knew that she'd never done that then it wouldn't hurt. But it did. She'd never had to deal with this under the sea; it had made her so unprepared for life on land. She just let the tears and quiet sobs go out through her body, not caring about anything else.

Eric watched silently as he heard his wife sing a gentle song that seemed to roll off the waves beautifully. An angel. He watched as her slender fingers played with the sand, and her eyes had this faraway look that he'd seen so many times on her face. She was thinking hard about something, and then...tears. At first he didn't see them. But then he heard the muffled sobs that just broke his heart.

He hated to hear her sobs. They were just awful to hear from such a kind soul. He waited a few moments to see if the sobs would go down, but that was not to be. If anything, they got a little louder, not much to wake anyone, but just barely enough that made Eric want to go and hold her. But this was her alone time, would she be mad if he intruded? Most likely not; she wasn't the type a girl to throw a fit over little things. But still, _if_ she asked, he would tell her the truth. Lying was never an option, unless it was unavoidable and he had to if he wanted to protect her; _then_ he would lie. Coming up with this decision, he walked over to the shadowy figure of his wife.

"What are you doing out here?" A pair of strong warm arms wrapped around Ariel's figure, and she fell into them without a word, knowing full well who it was. She let the arms hold her as she cried, hopefully her sobs being quiet.

"How did you--why did you--what are you--?" Her soft voice asked finally, finding the words it needed to talk. She shivered in the cold night air, and in seconds a cloak was placed around her shoulders. Of course.

"I woke up when I felt you leave the bed. I came because I love you, and right now I'm trying to help you stop feeling sad. Now tell me what's on your mind darling." Eric's quiet voice said with emotion. Ariel shook her head and let her body relax against Eric's warm body. After being on land for a total of three months now, you'd think she was adjusting to the temperature change easily, but she wasn't.

"I don't like rumors." Ariel mumbled into his chest, keeping her face turned away from him. She knew that his blue eyes were staring at her intently, urging her to go on, but she didn't. Eric sighed, and gently brushed away a tendril of her crazy red hair.

"Neither do I." He murmured into her hair as fresh tears filled her eyes. "Ariel, it goes without saying that I **know** that those rumors aren't true. So if you know that they aren't true, and so do I, what does it matter?" Eric added softly, to the surprise of Ariel.

"Because....un-under the se-sea, I wa-wa-was a princess, but n-no one go-gossiped about me. It's me-me-_mean_!" Ariel said through her sobs, making sure they were still low. Eric sighed deeply and held her closer to him for awhile, just comforting her while the former mermaid cried her tears.

"Feeling better?" Eric asked after awhile, finally. He wasn't that cold, having gotten used to the weather from sneaking out at night when he was a boy. Ariel was shivering through the cloak though; she still wasn't accustomed to the weather. During summer the night air was cooler, but not enough to make one shiver. But the fall brought colder days, and that meant even colder nights.

"Yes." Ariel's melodic voice answered, her head still resting against Eric's chest. Her nightgown, at least the hem of it, was soaking wet, the water dripping onto her feet. She didn't care. The water felt good against her dried out skin, cold as it was comforting to her.

"Would you like to go back upstairs?" Ariel knew that she really didn't have a choice. Whether she liked it or not, Eric would drag her upstairs if she said no anyway so she nodded, her head still tucked into his chest. She felt like a child, carrying on so. But Eric seemed to take no notice as he gently stood up, pulling Ariel up at the same time.

It didn't take the couple long before they were back in their room, Eric watching his wife with careful eyes as she sat on their bed and curled in the covers. Eric still watched her carefully, but slid into bed beside her and sighed.

"I'm better now." Came Ariel's soft response to his arm being slung across her waist. Eric's eyebrows shot up, but he kept his lips tight and gave her a disbelieving expression. Ariel's blue eyes looked worn and exhausted, but she managed a tiny grin.

"Really, it was just....shocking I guess. But I'm fine. Don't worry." The reassuring tones she used for once were real, and not just for Eric. It was a shock to her system she realized, almost wryly.

"Alright." It was the only word Eric could use so he could not tell her how confused he was. "It's almost midnight, we should sleep." Eric said noticing how her eyes had drooped.

"Sing me to sleep Eric." Ariel's soft request was enough to melt her husband's heart; she knew that for a fact. She loved it when Eric would hum an old lullaby from his childhood to her; it took her so far back in time. Although he would protest and say that her voice was much better than his, she still loved hearing his more than her own, because it was like her special treasure. One that she kept secret from the world.

"Of course darling." Eric replied with a small smile, brushing away a tendril of her hair and humming softly. Ariel sighed contently, and adjusted herself so that her head was on Eric's chest and his arms were around her body. He smiled a bit at that, but then noticed her breathing slowing and steadying and finally she was fast asleep. As a soft smile spread to his lips, he let his own eyes close, and his mind immediately shut off and he fell asleep next to his wife.


	6. Chapter 6

Eric, like usual woke up before his wife. The room felt somehow chillier, and he frowned for a moment, before shrugging it off. His gaze fell to the girl who was asleep next to him, her hair a mess from sleeping, and her nightgown wrinkled from a night's sleep. He smiled softly to himself at this, before gently moving a piece of her hair out of her face. Now came the part he hated about waking up; waking the sleeping angel next to him up.

"Ariel, darling, time to wake up." He said softly to her, caressing her face his hand. She murmured a sound, but her eyes didn't open as she tried to squirm away from him.

"You're not going anywhere." Eric teased, pulling her closer to him. A soft laugh escaped her lips, and she sighed contentedly into his chest. The night before was now just a memory, and Ariel knew that she would be fine with everything as long as Eric was with her.

"It's cold." Ariel murmured sleepily, opening her eyes a little to meet her husband's. He smiled softly at her and nodded in agreement before resuming his role as her alarm clock.

"C'mon, let's get dressed and then we can see why it's so cold." Eric murmured laughingly, and he slipped out of their bed easily, pulling off his shirt.

"Fine." Ariel murmured, slowly getting up from the bed herself. She walked to the adjoining dressing room and with some assist from Eric, got an extremely warm dress on her.

It wasn't long till the young couple realized that the coldness was snow, and that it was the first snowfall of the year. Eric grinned at his wife as he saw her eyes grow wide as they scanned the courtyard of the castle, everything white. An open carriage was pulled up for them, and they couple sped off to a pond, with Carlotta and Grimsby warning them to be safe and pull on their scarves and ear muffs. Well, mostly Carlotta said that part. Grimsby was more amused to Ariel's reaction of snow.

"Here, put on your skates like this." Eric was trying to teach his wife how to at least put on her pair of skates that he had ordered for her for the winter. His own skates were already on, and now came the difficult task of teaching Ariel how to skate.

"Okay, their on. Now what do I do?!" Ariel said this impatiently as she pushed her husband's hand out of her skate's way. She was excited to finally.....what was that word? Oh yes, _skate_ on ice! It sounded like so much fun!

"Here, I'll lift you up and then just....glide." How does one go about in explaining ice skating? These things were just...known. Smiling to himself at how Ariel didn't know, he helped her onto the ice, where she clutched onto him for awhile before starting to glide a little by herself. It wasn't long before she was gliding across one side of the pond happily....and falling a few times, but that was to be expected from one who had never been ice skating before.

Ariel soon grew bored of just that one side where Eric was, and ventured a little to the to the other side when his back was turned for a moment because a lace had come undone. Gliding smoothly to the other side of the pond, she noticed of much more icy it was. Strange. But the girl gave it no second thought as she tried to twirl on the ice and fell on her rear....hard.

"CRAACCK!" The ice beneath her gave away suddenly, and Ariel was plunged underneath into cold waters. Eric heard the crack, and turned around just to see Ariel's shocked and curious expression of falling through the ice. He was frozen for a moment, all he could hear was his heart beating loudly and the only thing he could see was the spot where his wife had just gone under. When Ariel's head broke the surface, his little moment stopped immediately as she thrashed around in the cold waters, no doubt swallowing some of it in the process.

"Eri--" Ariel couldn't even finish her sentence as more cold water seized her body. She could feel the weight of the warm clothing pulling her down further, her consciousness was starting to fade. It hit her suddenly that she was going to drown and die. Poor Eric! How would he live? And Daddy?! He would be heartbroken to learn that she had died! Her sisters....oh what would, _could_ her sisters do now that she wouldn't be their anymore?! Not one thought was spent on her well being as it was all spent on those she loved dearly. Her consciousness was barely there anymore, she was now sure she would die. The last strands of her strength to be kept up failed, and her head started to go under the cold water.....

"Ariel! Oh God, Ariel! Ariel, Ariel, Ariel! Are you all right?!" Eric was frantic as he pulled his wife out of the cold water. His hand immediately repelled against the coldness of her sleeve, but he had it grip her tighter. She was coughing, spluttering, choking up ice...but she was safe. He had pulled her so that she was on the more stable side of the pond, and his attention was focused on her fully now. "Ariel, are you alright?" He repeated his question, and this time he got a nod from the shivering of Ariel.

Her face was bright red from the coldness of the frozen water, and her body was shivering so much that if he let go of her, Eric was sure she would curl up into a little ball. Gasping breaths were still coming from her, but this time he thought them more as sobs than trying to breathe. Thanking God that she was, at least at the moment, fine, he lifted her up in his arms easily and placed her in the carriage.

"Here, this won't really warm you up a lot, but it will help. Hang on Ariel; we'll be back at the castle in minutes." Eric said this as he wrapped a blanket, a thin one at that, around his wife's shivering form. She couldn't speak, at least, not now as her mouth was still frozen. Eric noticed, as he had the horse go full speed back to the castle, that she had lost her mittens, her scarf, and her earmuffs in the cold water. That didn't matter now anyway, he could always have new ones made for her in no time. He also realized she was still in her skates, which probably wasn't a good idea. He helped her take off the skates quickly so her feet would warm up faster, and then had her put on her normal shoes.

Eric could barely retain his calm composure as he had his wife step down from the carriage. He had wanted to carry her inside, but with a few fervent shakes of her head, he had thought she had meant no, she didn't want to be carried. So he obeyed her wishes, and gently led her inside to the warmth of the castle.

"Oh my goodness! What happened to you dear?!" Carlotta asked her eyes wide as she took in the shivering, soaking, and teeth chattering girl in front of her. The poor thing was wrapped in a blanket, and she was shivering so much that it was impossible for her to even speak!

"She fell....through the ice." Eric explained quietly, handing Ariel off to Carlotta without a second thought. He knew that she was in good hands.

"Poor thing!" Carlotta murmured, before straightening up and grabbing the girl's arm. "You need a hot bath to warm you up _now_, or you'll freeze to your death!" With that, Ariel was dragged to the bathroom.

Eric sighed as Ariel was dragged off. If he had been even a second late, she would have drowned. He could see it when he lifted her up from the water; her mind was already made up that she would die. He wondered what she was thinking during that time. Was she thinking about how awful her husband was for not saving her? Or how she missed her tail? Maybe she had been thinking about how she missed her under the water friends. These things were in his mind as he started to try to take a few calming breaths.

"Heaven's child, you're a wreck! Now, calm down and let's just focus on getting you into the tub; you need to warm up _fast_." Carlotta murmured this soothingly to Ariel, who was still gasping for breath. The housekeeper knew the girl wasn't a strong swimmer....heck, the child barely knew how to float! The fall through the ice must have really taken a number on her.

Carlotta gently removed the thin blanket that Ariel had wrapped around her small frame, and then helped the girl out of her soaking wet dress. Ariel tried to flex her fingers, and whimpered when she couldn't, now feeling scared. Carlotta looked up at her and frowned.

"What's wrong dear?" She asked, now alarmed. Ariel shook her head; her gaze falling to the ground so Carlotta wouldn't see the tears that were in her eyes. There was an aching, cold pain that she felt throughout her body, and it scared her silly.

"Alright, into the bath with you now; come on." Carlotta said to the young girl, gently leading the girl into hot water. The girl didn't complain when her skin touched the water; the hot water felt well against her cold skin, and she sighed contentedly.

Carlotta gently pinned the girl's hair up so that the back of her neck was showing fully so that she would warm up faster. The poor thing was still shaking, and gasping breaths were still coming from her, and when Carlotta saw a small tear fall, she knew something was definitely wrong. Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, Ariel looked up to see the kind features of the older woman.

"It's nothing." Ariel murmured, but she knew that was a lie. More tears fell from her face, but she wiped them away quickly, moving her gaze to the bubbles in the water. If she looked at Carlotta she would start to cry, Ariel knew it. "I'm just....." What word would make sense?

"Spooked from your fall?" Carlotta filled in with a glimmer of a smile. It was always amusing when Ariel used the wrong word for something everyone took as a common knowledge.

"Yes, that's it. It was just so....scary! I-I didn't even--I didn't realize--I didn't know...." Ariel was shuddering from the memory now, and Carlotta placed a comforting kiss on her head.

"Honey, it's not your fault you didn't know about the thin ice; that's Eric's for not telling you about it. Besides, there's nothing to worry about _now_, he saved you from drowning and you're going to be fine." Carlotta said gently to the teen, and a look of understanding lit up on Ariel's face.

"I guess." Ariel said with a sigh, realizing that she could feel her fingers now. Her body was slowly warming up, and she wasn't so cold anymore, thankfully. After a few more minutes of Carlotta fussing over her and soaking in the hot water, she was allowed to get out. She protested when Carlotta said that she should be sent straight to bed, and for once got her way. She was allowed to sit in one of the sitting rooms, with Eric next to her of course, but there were some drawbacks to the deal. For instance, she was sitting in front of a roaring fire in the fireplace, and a blanket was wrapped around her. But still, she got somewhat of her way.

"How do you feel?" Eric murmured worriedly, and smiling when he heard his wife's chuckle. She leaned back so that her head rested on his chest, and closed her eyes.

"I'm fine." She answered with amusement clear in her voice, a smile spreading to her lips. Her eyes were still closed, and she sighed contentedly.

"Do you honestly think I believed that for a second?" Eric asked with a smile, letting Ariel curl up against him.

"You could if you wanted to." Ariel answered. Eric noticed she was smiling softly to herself, her eyes still closed.

"And if I don't want to?" He wondered out of curiosity. A bigger smile spread across Ariel's face, and her eyes opened as she looked up at Eric, blushing slightly.

"Well then, I guess there's only one thing I can do." She said with a wicked smile, leaning her lips closer to his. Eric's breathe caught in his throat of how magical she seemed, how wonderful she was. Leaning down, he could already feel her lips starting to brush against his and he smiled......and then Ariel kissed his cheek and pulled away, giggling.

"That's what I can do." She stated, with another giggle as Eric tried to give her a sour look, but only succeeded in smiling his crooked smile at her.

"That's hardly fair, don't you think?" He said, trying to lean in for a kiss, but his lips were pushed away with Ariel's hand, and her giggle sounded in his ears. Shaking his head, he pulled away from her and grinned slightly, before looking at the clock. Already one? Really? Time fly's fast when you have to save your wife from yet another near death experience.

Ariel caught him looking over at the clock, and realized it was time for them to be King and Queen instead of just Eric and Ariel. Sighing to herself, she disentangled his arms from around her waist, and got off the couch.

"Come on lover boy." She teased, as she offered her hand to him. Eric only shook his head as he smiled hugely at her, his dimples showing through, and took her hand as he stood up.

"I believe the correct term would be lover _man_." He said, and Ariel rolled her eyes, and waved her hand as if it didn't matter.

"Since when are you so keen on using correct terms for things? As I recall, it took a crab to whisper in your ear my name because you couldn't guess it." Ariel said with a laugh as Eric actually gave her a sheepish look.

"Hey, it's better than 'mute maiden'." He teased as Ariel threw back her head and laughed lightly as he opened the door for her to the throne room. Coming behind her for a moment as he saw her orbs grow wide at how many people were in the room, he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Don't worry. You'll be fine. You always are my little mermaid." He whispered into her ear, taking her hand and leading her to her throne. He squeezed her hand as a sign that he was here for her, and then sat in his own throne.

The day progressed slowly for Eric and Ariel, as they dealt with the matters of the kingdom. Eric had to admit though as he saw her patiently talk to the nobles, and nod her head in understanding at things that she was a wonderful Queen.

Soon enough, they was finished with they're work, and they retired to their own room, exhausted. Ariel mainly because of some cold she had caught from the fall through the ice. Shaking out her red locks, she pulled her nightgown on, and fell fast asleep on the pillow, next to an amused Eric.

"Goodnight love." Eric whispered with kissing her forehead and wrapping his arm around her waist. Just to feel her was enough to make him the happiest man alive.


	7. Chapter 7

Ariel awoke to the rolling waves, but she didn't open her eyes right away. She was savoring the last few minutes of possible sleep she would get before waking up. But her mind was already awake, and her eyes opened up wearily to embrace the sun streaming through the curtains. She tried to breath in a deep breath of the thick sea air she knew surrounded the castle, but her nose was too stuffed up. She was breathing through her mouth, she noticed with a frown. Her throat, as a result, was sore and felt like she was breathing in fire.

"Ah, so sleeping beauty finally awakens. I was going to let you sleep in for a bit, but if you want to wake up now...." A quiet voice mused, planting a kiss on her forehead. Eric then frowned, and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead, trying to see if she had a fever. She did. A high one too, unfortunately. "You should rest Ariel, your running a fever." He added, and smiled once he saw a grimace on her face. He was already dressed, and was heading off to breakfast when Ariel had woken.

"I am?" Ariel's foggy mind slowly responded to Eric's voice and she watched as he nodded and pulled the bed sheets up so that they were tucked up to her chin. He really did look out for her, and if he could, she knew that he would want to spend all day with her because she was sick. But he couldn't, and they both knew it.

"Yes darling. Now sleep; you'll feel better once you do." Eric told her, before stealing a look at the grandfather clock in the room. Almost breakfast. If he was late that would just get him a lecture from Grimsby, which was the worst kind of punishment ever inflicted upon people. Really, it was.

"Okay Eric." Ariel said this with little enthusiasm as her brain started to slowly shut off, making her eyes close and her entire body relax, to the amusement of her husband.

Eric waited until he heard a soft snore, barely audible; escape Ariel's lips before kissing her forehead once more and walking out of their room. He hated when she was sick, and he hated more the fact that he couldn't spend every minute with her when she was. It didn't bore him to be by her; on the contrary, it _fascinated_ him. Her expression so calm and peaceful, her body so relaxed...it was as if the word Angel was an insult to describe her.

Thinking about Ariel's expression if he said that to her, he laughed lightly to himself, before informing Carlotta that Ariel was just feeling under the weather today. He knew she hated people to worry about her, but everyone always did anyway. Sometimes she could just be so reckless! But then again, most of the time she didn't _know_ what she was doing; just making it up as she went along. Good thing Eric was always there grabbing the back of her dress and pulling her back before she hurt herself. Still, to Ariel, if sickness was the price to pay for having 'some fun', than she was glad to do it; to the disapproving expressions that Carlotta always gave her. Speaking of Carlotta.....

"Poor child!" Carlotta murmured, placing a cold cloth against the girl's forehead to bring down her fever. It was obvious that she had one; the tip of her nose was red, she was coughing, breathing through her mouth, her eyes were puffed up and looked sore....poor thing!

"I'm fine." Ariel protested weakly, trying to sit up in bed. Carlotta gently, but firmly put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down, and this time, for once, Ariel didn't resist. She lied down on the bed while Carlotta fussed about her.

"Really?" Carlotta asked with a skeptical expression, and Ariel nodded as best she could. Carlotta's skeptical expression melted into one of warmth as she took in the sick child. "Let's let the thermometer decide that dear. Under your tongue now." Carlotta said, placing the thermometer into Ariel's mouth. By now, the child knew the drill, and she opened her mouth up so the thermometer could be put in.

"It's nothing." Ariel said, and almost immediately after she started to cough. Carlotta frowned deeply at this, and then sighed.

"Don't talk when the thermometer is in your mouth hon." She scolded, and Ariel's gaze fell like a child who had just been caught doing something they shouldn't.

"But I'm only--" Ariel started to protest, but again was cut off by a coughing fit.

"Heaven's child, does that mouth of yours ever stop moving?" Carlotta asked her, knowing the answer was a flat out no. The older woman took a deep breath and sighed it out, shaking her head and taking the thermometer out of Ariel's mouth.

"You have a....102 fever. Oh, the poor thing!" Carlotta murmured, placing the thermometer on the nightstand, knowing full well how Eric could be when things concerned Ariel.

"102? Is that bad?" Ariel asked, trying to blink away the sleepiness that wanted to take over her eyes. Carlotta chuckled at the question, and tucked the sheets up to the girl's chin.

"Yes it _is _bad. You're going right back to sleep dear; you need to rest if you want to get better." Carlotta said firmly to the teen. Ariel was too tired to protest her point that she wasn't tired; she just nodded tiredly and finally let the sleep overtake her.

When Ariel finally awoke some time later in the afternoon, she couldn't get back to sleep. Her mind refused to go back to sleep, but she felt a little better. Maybe she should go find out what Eric was doing since she couldn't sleep. It seemed like reasonable idea, but if she was caught sneaking around the castle she'd be in huge trouble. But still, it was more fun than just staying put for another few hours. She'd just have to be really, really, really sneaky.

Smiling wryly to herself at the thought of this, with some effort, Ariel managed to get out of bed and out the door of her room. It wasn't hard to find ways to not get caught; it _was_ a big castle. But because it was a big castle that meant it also had a lot of servants; so whenever she heard footsteps she quickly hid behind the first pillar she could find. She knew that she just wanted to see what Eric was up to, and hopefully she wouldn't be sent back to bed by him, but she knew that was a long shot.

Eric was officially bored out of his mind. It's not like he didn't take matters of his kingdom seriously, but it was so hard to focus on one thing when Ariel was sick! Besides, without Ariel sitting next to him on the throne it was hard to even pretend that he was paying attention. The little smiles she would give him when his mind started to wander, or the understanding expression she would have on her face when he looked at her, even when he knew that most of the things she was hearing didn't make any sense to her. Without that, it was almost impossible to focus on what Duke de Kiln was saying. Almost.

"....and our fish is at a surely loss this year, thanks to the new restrictions." Duke de Kiln finished. Fish? That made Eric sit up straighter in the throne and look at the man carefully.

"I imposed the new fishing restrictions to be at peace with the merpeople." He said coldly. That was his excuse whenever anyone asked about it. His actual reason; he would hate to let Ariel see a dead fish. It would break her heart.

"But your majesty, can't you at least be a little lenient? It's only a few more fish; and besides, they don't even have brains!" Duke de Kiln argued, but that only made Eric's temper rise. Carlotta and Grimsby swore that he got it from his mother, but he had a better control over it now that Ariel was with him. Then the thought hit him, why not fish? It's only what, a hundred or so more than before, and fish shouldn't be near ships in the first place....the merpeople would have to understand! And it _is_ the fish's fault for swimming right into the net.

As Eric was mulling this thought over for a minute, his eyes caught a flash of red hair. Bright red hair. He turned his head only a fraction of an inch to see a big blue eye watching him. As if only that one eye couldn't see very well, a head slowly came more into view, and a hand gripped the wall. Ariel. What was she doing out of bed?! She should be resting like he told her too! An amused smile crept onto his lips as he turned his head ever so slightly to meet her gaze. Her eyes locked with his, and they went wide. Her head quickly disappeared from view and so did her hand and Eric smiled a bit at that. Then he thought of the fish problem.

"No. I will not make merpeople any more uncomfortable with fishing than they already are. As it is, they hate the fishing that's already being done in the sea, and I refuse to add to that problem anymore." Eric said coldly, and he felt good about the decision. He had already banned fish from the castle, on the count that Ariel was a mermaid, and it could also make her cry.

Ariel, who was standing on the other side of the wall, sighed in relief at Eric's answer. Thank you Eric, she said mentally. She rested her head against the wall and let her eyes close, knowing that most servants wouldn't be crossing this way, since Eric was in the throne room and they'd hate to disturb him. A small smile of rebellion spread to her lips at the thought that she hadn't been caught. Eric knew she was here, but at the moment he couldn't do anything about it.

"Ahem." A voice said, close to Ariel. She reopened her eyes and looked to see.....Carlotta standing right in front of her with question written all over her face. Gulp. Ariel gave her a sheepish smile, and Carlotta shook her head.

"I wasn't tired." Ariel quickly explained as not to get a lecture. Too bad it came anyway.

"Tsk, now what are you doing out of bed? You're still in your nightgown! Come on dear, it's back to bed with you." Carlotta told the young teen, gently pushing her along.

"But I'm not sick anymore." Ariel interjected quickly, and Carlotta gave her a disbelieving look.

"Yes you are sick, and you should be in bed dear; _resting_." Carlotta said disapprovingly, taking the girl's arm because she kept dragging her feet, and leading her through the halls. How did the child even get out of bed, as weak as she was?

"But I'm fine, really. I'm not running a fever." As Ariel said that, she felt herself shiver, and she knew Carlotta felt that too.

"Honey, your burning up, and you have chills. You need all the rest you can get if you want to get any better!" Carlotta said and Ariel coughed and shivered.

"But I'm feeling better now." Ariel said, as she was led straight to her room and tucked back into the sheets....tightly.

"Honey, just go to sleep. You'll feel better sooner if you do." Carlotta advised, firmly pushing the girl back down when she tried to sit up.

"But--" Ariel tried protesting again, but was cut off by a thermometer stuck into her mouth.

"No 'buts' dear. Now sleep." Carlotta ordered, and Ariel sighed, but she knew she wouldn't win this battle. This is why she tried one more time to not sleep.

"I'm not tired though." Ariel's incentive was fading fast, and Carlotta fussed about her protectively. The child was so vulnerable, so unknowing and innocent! Plus it's not like she knew anything about human world. The dear was a sweet child, but without a firm hand to make sure that she didn't do things that were socially inacceptable (like running around in her nightgown) she wouldn't know a thing! Eric tried to be as understanding as he could, but some things just needed a motherly touch.

"You're never going to get any better if you don't rest hon. 104 fever, tsk, it's going up. Poor child." Carlotta murmured to herself, taking the thermometer out of Ariel's mouth and placing it back on the nightstand.

"Is that bad?" From the way Carlotta was saying it, it sounded really awful.

"Yes, it's _bad_. That fall through the ice really took a toll on you hon. Now go to sleep, or I'll have to get Eric. And I don't think he'll be very happy about this." Carlotta chuckled to herself, knowing that Eric would force his wife to sleep if he had too.

"Okay, okay. I'll go to sleep, but..." Ariel couldn't even finish her sentence as she fell asleep right in the middle of it. Her mind was almost all asleep when she felt Carlotta place a cold cloth on her forehead, and another on the back of her neck to bring down the fever. The poor thing was still shivering from the chills the fever was giving her, and her fever was dangerously high.

"Ariel? Ariel...." It was a few hours later that Eric was trying to get his wife to wake up so he could make her eat something. He knew that she was still running a high fever, but if she was going to get better she had to eat.

"Mhm?" Ariel opened her sore eyes slowly and focused on Eric who was smiling gently at her as he pushed away some strands of her hair. She wasn't cold anymore, thank god, but now she was hot. She kept trying to move the bed sheets off of her, but Eric stayed firm and made sure she was always tucked into them. Her face had beads of sweat running down it and Eric, just because he was overprotective, put the thermometer in her mouth.

"You need to eat something." He said softly to her, running his hand along her face. Winter had only begun and already she was on bed rest. He wanted her to get better already so he could show her things like snowballs, and snowmen, and snow angels (or snow devils, as he and his friends used to make when they were younger)

"Erwick, I feweel awfuwl." Ariel said, noting that the thermometer was in her mouth. Of course it was. It seemed like every time she was awake the thermometer was stuck into her mouth.

"Don't speak Ariel; just eat something so you feel better." Eric said, taking the thermometer out of her mouth. Still 104; Eric sighed heavily and brushed away some more tendrils of her hair away from her sweat filled forehead.

"Erwick." Ariel moaned, from the awful way she felt.

"Hush Ariel, hush. Just eat something." Eric said quietly, propping her up with different pillows. He spoon-fed her chicken soup and orange juice and finally, Ariel fell back weak with exhaustion.

"My nowse huwrts frowm being stuffed uwp." Eric willed himself not to laugh at how funny she sounded. He knew that if he started to laugh, she wouldn't understand, and take it the wrong way.

"I know you feel bad. You'll be better in the morning though. I promise." Eric didn't add, 'if not, I am getting the doctor to prescribe you sleeping medication so I can make sure you're always asleep'.

"Siwng mwe to slewep." Ariel asked as Eric gently lowered her back onto the pillow's so that she could rest.

"Of course. Da de, de du de…." It was the same song she had once sung to him, and Ariel sighed in content as she started to fall asleep.

"Goodnight love." Eric said, kissing her lips tenderly before crawling into bed next to her and hoping she'd be better in the morning.


	8. Chapter 8

When Eric woke up that morning, the first thing he did was look over at his wife. She was sleeping peacefully beside him, but shivering despite the warmth of the room. Her hair was in a state of disarray as was her nightgown. Her bare feet stuck out of the bed sheets ever so slightly, and her head was nestled into the pillow. A fallen angel; that's what she looked like.

Not wanting to wake her if she was still running a fever, Eric gingerly pushed up her bangs and felt her forehead. She was hot, still, but not burning up like she had been the day before. Reaching over her sleeping form carefully, he grabbed the thermometer and placed it in her mouth.

He looked at her sleeping form, and sighed. He wanted so much to take her outside and show her everything that she hadn't seen of winter yet. Yes, he supposed he had years to show her, but the first winter was always the best. Sighing to himself once again, he gently took out the thermometer from her mouth and looked at it. 101 fever; at least it was going down. But it was still a fever, so Eric kissed her cheek before slipping out of bed and letting her sleep in peace.

"No!" Ariel shot up it bed from her nightmare, but as weak as she still was, she fell right back into the pillows, crying soft tears to herself. "It's only a dream, it's only a dream." She murmured to herself, trying to fall back asleep. But the nightmare had scared her to a certain degree, and she couldn't. Maybe she could see what Eric was doing; except this time be sneakier and not get caught by Carlotta. Smiling to herself at the thought, weakly she pulled herself up in bed.

On tip toed feet, she made it to the door and opened it softly. She peeked out her head carefully, and upon making sure no one was around, closed the door after her just as softly. She didn't want to get caught today, she _wouldn't_ get caught. If she was, Eric for sure would strap her down to the bed so tightly that escaping wasn't even a possibility. Okay, maybe he wouldn't go _that_ far, but he would go far.

She was sneakier this time around, and once again she found Eric in the throne room. Making sure that she could get a good view of him without him seeing her, peeked just a little at him. He had a thoughtful expression on his face, but once you pushed passed that, you could see boredom and worry etched in his eyes, most likely for her. Sigh. Why was he so overprotective? She loved him, but was it so necessary?

Sighing to herself yet again, Ariel leaned against the wall and looked back once more to see Eric. But he wasn't there. Furrowing her eyebrows, she scanned the room to realize no one was in it, completely empty. What in the--

"I'm going to have to lock you up if you keep sneaking out." A quiet voice mused behind her, wrapping their arms around her petite waist.

"Eric!" Ariel gasped, and the boy laughed lightly behind her, and started to try to lead her back to their room, but Ariel refused to move.

"Come on Ariel, you need your rest." He said gently, once again trying to move her. But Ariel, who was surprised that Eric hadn't just picked her up and carried her off already, stayed firm and refused to move.

"I'm not tired, and I'm not sick." Ariel answered with a frown, crossing her arms and planting her feet firmly on the ground. Eric sighed and tried to move her once again, but without hurting her, it was impossible.

"Then I'll just carry you." Eric said with indifference, picking her up and carrying her in his arms. Ariel pouted and refused to look at him the entire time, only making Eric chuckle as he set her down gently on the bed and stuck the thermometer into her mouth.

"I hate this." Ariel murmured noticing that her eyes were closing. So much for trying to keep awake. At the thought of the last sentence, Ariel shook thinking about Ursula's last words. 'So much, for true love!'

"Are you cold?" Eric asked worriedly when he felt her shiver. Or was that a shudder? Either way, he wanted to know.

"No, I'm fine. Just like I'm not sick." Ariel's head was pulled up in defiance at the sentence before, and Eric chuckled lightly as he pulled the thermometer out of her mouth.

"100 degrees. Still a fever, but it's gone down a lot." Eric said to his wife, who pouted at him.

"I'm fine Eric. I'm completely and most definitely fin--" Ariel started to cough to the worry of Eric now.

"Easy, don't hurt yourself. Just sit up so it can stop." He said to her softly, helping her sit up in the bed. Her coughs finally stopped, and she fell back weak with exhaustion on the pillows.

"Ugh. I hate these coughs." She complained, and Eric smiled wanly at her. He hated it just as much when she coughed, he was always afraid for her safety.

"Shush, just go to sleep my little mermaid. You'll feel better once you do." Eric said to her softly, brushing away tendrils of her vibrant hair from her forehead.

"Only because I'm tired, not becaaauuuuse you told me too." Ariel yawned out, her head falling onto the pillow gingerly, as a small smile was on her lips. Eric smiled his own smile at her, his Angel.

Ariel woke up late the next morning, and groaned inwardly as she tried to sit up. She fell back almost immediately and sighed. Eric had said that she'd be better once she slept, but that hadn't been correct. She felt worse than ever, her body aching from the fever. She didn't think she'd go ice skating for awhile.

As she was thinking over whether to try to escape or not, she noticed a note on Eric's pillow. Furrowing her eyebrows, she picked it up in between her slim fingers, and unfolded it.

Don't even think about it Ariel. Go back to sleep.

With love,

**Eric **

How did he even know that she was planning to try to escape?! With a sigh, she fell back on the pillows, placing the note on the nightstand next to her. She was too weak to do anything anyways. That sucks.

With a frustrated sigh, she fell back on her pillow and tried to get to sleep again. But she was already too awake; she couldn't get back to sleep _now_. If only she could understand what she was reading, she would read a book. But there weren't any books inside their room, and Ariel never understood them anyway.

With another sigh to herself, she closed her eyes and tried to force herself to go to sleep. What else was there to do? Sleeping was the only thing to take away the time. But she wasn't tired! How frustrating this was! With another sigh, she sat up a little, and looked out the window wistfully. There was...oh what that word for what the white thing was during winter?! With a frustrated sigh she tried thinking hard about it, but she couldn't remember what it was called! Well anyway, whatever it was, it covered the balcony in a thin layer. Why? Eric hadn't really explained to her what it was, and why it came yet. Was it dangerous? No, he had said that it wasn't....but still. Flakes that fall from the sky? But only during one season? Strange.

"I'm so bored." Ariel whispered to herself, sighing. She wasn't sick anymore; just weak....or at least it felt that way now that she was fully awake. It wasn't fair that she was being cooped up her own room when she wasn't even sick!

Ariel suddenly heard footsteps, heavy ones, come closer to the door. She dived under the bed sheets and not a moment later did the door open. Ariel closed her eyes lightly so it looked as though she was sleeping, which she was definitely not. A chuckle sounded out, bringing Ariel to realize that it was Eric, and his hand tucked away a tendril of her probably out of control hair.

"Your awful at faking sleep, do you realize that?" His voice said softly to her, and Ariel grinned a little, but kept pretending she was asleep. "Ariel, I know you're not asleep." Again his little chuckle, and Ariel had to smile a big smile now. Realizing that she was caught, she turned her head lazily to face him.

"I'm not tired, or running a fever." She said to him, reaching up a hand to tussle his black hair. He caught her hand in mid air though, and kissed it before setting it back down on the bed.

"You don't feel that hot, but you're still weak." Eric said softly to her, smiling as she pouted in defiance.

"I'm not weak." Ariel said, forcing herself to sit up, a little too quickly. The room started to spin all around her, and she swooned.

"Easy Ariel, you're still weak." Eric said to her, catching his wife as she swooned and then placing her back on the bed.

"I guess I still am. But I'm not tired, and I'm bored. Can't I just walk around the castle?" Ariel asked, sticking out her lower lip and looking up at Eric with a hopeful expression.

"You're still weak; and I don't want you getting anymore sick." Eric said to her softly. If he could, he would just have her get out of bed, get dressed, and go outside to see the snow. He could just imagine her face when she sees it....that bright surprised but somehow curious smile that would light up on her face, her blue eyes getting big with surprise....if only she wasn't so weak!

"I might be weak, but that has nothing to do with the fact that I'm bored." Ariel reminded him, and Eric grinned, showing his dimples which he knew she loved seeing.

"I'll meet you half way. I'll let you go to the library, only the library Ariel, not the entire castle, and let you do what you want in their for a bit, while I take care of some things. But only for a little while Ariel; I don't want you to exhaust yourself. Sound fair?" Eric said with a sly smile, and was rewarded by the brightening of Ariel's eyes and a smile.

"Oh alright." Ariel, with effort, lifted herself up so that she was sitting up, and then leaned forward quickly to catch Eric's lips. He was a little surprised at first, but welcomed the kiss happily, and returned it back to her with enthusiasm. He broke off after a moment though, realizing that Ariel would keep on if he let her, and not that he didn't want that, he just knew that she still wasn't all that used to breathing on land.

Eric helped her up on her feet, and into her dressing gown, which she protested was not necessary. But with a small smile on his face constantly because of his wife, Eric got her to put it on. With that, he led her to the library and sat her down on the couch.


	9. Chapter 9

"Stay here and be good." Eric warned, and Ariel rolled her eyes, but it was lovingly, as he kissed the top of her head.

"I will. Go!" Ariel said to him, kissing his cheek and then pushing him playfully towards the doors. Eric glanced back once at his wife, and she smiled at him as he left to a meeting, which he was hoping would only be an hour or so.

"What should I read?" Ariel murmured to herself, standing up and going to one of the many shelves in the library. She let her fingers trail across the books happily, until one particular book caught her eye.

The spine said that the title of this book was _Dracula_, the color of the words in red. Ariel looked at this black book with a red title curiously, and she took it out of the shelf. This seemed like a good book if any to try and read.

Settling herself back on the couch, with her legs tucked underneath her, Ariel opened the book curiously. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the unfamiliar words, but soon she got the hang of it. The way this book was set out was so....strange, but after awhile she got the hang of that too.

The story line was so...interesting! An unknowing man going into a strange castle like house, Count Dracula and his secrets....how enthralling! But as the book progressed, Ariel felt a chill going down her spine. Enthralling was no longer the word for this book, another word like dark, scary, and terrifying would be better words. Ariel's eyes were the size of the moon as she started to shake a little from the freakiness of it all. She was scared, really scared now.

"Boo." It was one word that startled Ariel to the point where she jumped in surprise, and let out a soft yelp and her eyes filled with tears. "Ariel, darling, are you okay?" Eric asked in surprise. He watched silently as Ariel wiped the tears with the back of her sleeve and looked up at him.

"Sorry, you just....scared me." Ariel said to him, and Eric smiled softly at her.

"What are you reading?" He asked, sitting down on the couch. He noticed that Ariel was still standing up, her expression unsure. He laughed lightly to ease her tension, and intertwined his hand with hers. He pulled her in towards him, until she was close enough that he could sit her on his lap. She did so willingly, as he stroked her hair.

"Um..._Dracula_." Ariel said tentatively, hoping he didn't notice how she sounded.

"I didn't think you liked scary stories." Eric said, noticing that she was somewhat scared.

"I don't really. It just looked like a nice book...." Ariel let the thought wander as she shuddered. People sucking blood, bats (which she found out what they were from in the story), coffins....

"Are you cold?" Eric asked worriedly, placing a gentle hand on her forehead. Was she coming down with a fever again?

"No, I'm fine. Just a little tired." A yawn escaped her lips as she said that, and Eric smiled in amusement.

"Then you should go to bed." Eric said to her softly, standing up. Ariel stood up sleepily with him, and made it back to their room in a zombie state. Somehow he got her to take off her dressing gown, before just falling asleep. Finally, Ariel was in her own bed, sleeping with her love next to her. How much better could life be?

"NO!" Ariel said, sitting up in bed extremely fast. Tears started to fall down her face as she quietly sobbed. The nightmare....it was so bad...it had been terrible.

"Ariel? What's wrong darling?" Eric's soft voice called out to his wife groggily, feeling her sit up in the bed they shared.

"Nothing Eric. It w-was just a bad dream." Ariel tried to stay strong in her explanation, but her voice cracked in the middle. Eric immediately, even in his sleepy state, knew something was wrong, and he reached for her arm, and then gently pulled her back next to him in bed. He let her burrow her face into his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her sobbing frame.

"Shh, it's okay, your fine now. You're alright." Eric whispered, holding her as she sobbed. Was it really that bad of a nightmare?

"Eric, I-I-I was so scared." Ariel sobbed into his chest, as Eric murmured to her soothingly. She knew her dream was scary, and it was probably prodded by that book she'd been reading. Next time, she'd have to ask Eric about what books were horror stories in the library.

"What was it about?" Eric asked, but didn't push. He never wanted to make her feel uncomfortable; if she wanted to tell him she'd tell him in time.

"Ursula." It was the only word in the world that could drive Eric to anger. He knew that Ariel still had nightmares about her, how the woman played with her emotions and how Ariel had been a _tool_. He knew that she still hadn't forgiven herself for almost destroying the seven seas.

"What was she doing in your dreams, love?" Eric asked softly, intertwining his hand with hers to show her that he was here for her. No matter what.

"I-I was a mermaid again. You weren't there....she had the Triton. She kept shooting it at me....and I got hit. Then I turned into human, and y-you just left me to die. You said....that you could never love a _fish_. You said I was a freak of nature. And you said.....you said you hated me." Ariel said, crying even further into his chest.

"It's alright darling. It was just a nightmare." He said quietly as his hand moved through her hair. "Shh Ariel, it's alright. It was just a nightmare, it's okay." Eric didn't know what had brought on the nightmare, but he knew that there had to be some was for him to show her that he would never, ever, _**ever**_, say those things to her.

"Oh Eric." Ariel whispered, muffling her sobs. The nightmare had seemed so real.

"Ariel, you know I love you. I always have, and I always will. You know I would never say those things to you, I would never, ever, _**ever**_ even think of hurting you darling. Look at me Ariel." He instructed as Ariel had looked away. She turned her gaze back to him, and his expression softened, as he slid a hand down her cheek.

"Do you think I could ever hate you? _My_ little mermaid, the girl who saved me from drowning on my birthday! The girl with a beautiful voice, and an even more beautiful personality and face! The girl that left her life in the sea behind just to be with me! My love, my darling, my Ariel, don't even think for one second that I could hate you." He said, kissing her forehead. He meant it too; how did one go about hating such a kind soul?

"I knew you never could, but it was just so _scary_." Ariel whispered still, trying to stop her tears. She sounded childish; she was only proving that she was no more than a child, that little voice taunted in the back of her head.

"I'm so sorry that you had to have that nightmare. But I'll always be here to comfort you when you're sad Ariel, always remember that." He said, smiling softly at her. Ariel sniffled, wiping away the tears left over in her eyes as finally the cascade stopped.

"Thank you Eric." She whispered into the still night, and he wrapped his arms around her small waist, holding her tightly, because if he could, he'd never let her go.


	10. Chapter 10

"Darling.....love....wake up." Eric's soft voice said to his wife. He smiled as he saw her roll over and groan, trying to hide her head under the bed sheets. Eric furrowed his eyebrows for a moment at this, but then shrugged it off. He gently took off the bed sheets that were over her head, and smiled at her.

"Five more minutes." Ariel murmured sleepily, trying to move away from Eric because she knew he'd wake her up anyway.

Eric snagged her waist and pulled her more towards him. "If you don't wake up, then I guess we can't go sledding today..." He knew that she'd been waiting for days to go outside, and do something fun.

Ariel opened one eye lazily and raised her eyebrows at him. "_Sledding_ can wait, sleep can't." She was dying to go sledding, whatever it was, but sleep seemed more fun right about now.

"Come on Ariel. Wake up." This time it was an order, a gentle order, but an order none the less. Eric hated to be so responsible, but he knew that if he wasn't the responsible one, that Ariel wouldn't get out of bed 'till noon.

"Okay, okay. But I'm not going to like it." Ariel warned, sitting up in bed tiredly. Eric chuckled at that, and brushed a tendril of her hair away from her face.

"Get dressed Ariel." He warned, to the pout of Ariel. Eric started to slowly get out of bed, but not before he leaned over and kissed his wife for a moment.

"Oh alright." Ariel pouted, and then sighed. She got out of bed herself and skipped to her dressing room, to the amusement of her husband. She looked in the wardrobe and picked out a purple dress for the day, and then the matching coat that went with it. Smiling at herself in the mirror as she put the thick dress on, she didn't realize that Eric had snuck up behind her.

"If you're done looking in the mirror, am I allowed a kiss?" Eric teased, and Ariel gasped with surprise, but turned around anyway and stood on her toes, as she still didn't have shoes on. Without any shoes, she was considerably shorter than her husband, her head only reaching up to his chest. But that was alright with Eric, he loved her being so small.

"Mhm, that was wonderful." Ariel murmured as Eric broke off the kiss slowly. Eric gently led her outside, and he smiled as she gasped in surprise at the bright red sled.

"It's a sled." He explained to her softly, watching as she curiously knelt to the ground and ran her hand over it.

"What does it do?" Curiosity lead her to look up at her husband wonderingly, and he smiled, and took up the sled in his arms. Ariel followed him as he started to walk away, but she didn't understand it as he placed the sled on top of a hill.

"Sit on the sled, and I'll show you what it's for." Eric explained, and Ariel gave him a curious look, but did as she was told.

"Eric, what are you plaaannning!" Ariel screamed as the sled was pushed down the hill, with her still on it. She was gaining speed as she went down the hill, and she gripped the sled tightly. Her eyes were filled with terror for a moment, as she thought of why Eric had done this, but then she laughed, knowing that he wouldn't want to hurt her. This was sledding! Oh how fun! This was so thrilling! She laughed again, joyously as she felt the wind and the speed of this sled! Oh how wonder--CRASH!

Ariel landed in a pile of snow, her head buried under a few layers of it. Laughing, she popped up from the snow pile to see Eric's worried face next to her.

"Are you alright?" He asked, helping her out of the snow pile. He should've probably told her what sledding was before pushing her down the hill, but it seemed like more fun this way. Besides, she _had_ laughed while going down the hill, and again, when she crashed.

"Can I do it again?!" Were the first words out of Ariel's mouth as she stood up. She realized that she was wet from the melted snow, but she could care less. Eric laughed, and kissed her lips tenderly.

"Of course. But wouldn't you like to have a little race...?" Ariel's eyes went wide with the suggestion, and she jumped up and down at the thought.

"Yes, yes, yes! And I'll beat you!" Eric laughed lightly at her, and put a gentle hand on her shoulder to stop her bouncing. He picked up her sled again, and he started back up the hill, with Ariel following him with her excitement bubbling. Once on top of the hill, Eric set her sled back on the snow, and then set his own sled on the snow next to hers.

"Okay, on the count of three, I'll help you push off, and then we'll see who's faster. Alright?" Eric leveled with her, smiling as she nodded excitedly. "Okay, one....two....three!" Eric pushed her off easily, and then jumped on his own and went down the hill. He laughed, as he saw Ariel's red hair flow behind her as went down the hill. He watched as she screamed in delight, and that was all he needed to smile. Uh oh, snow pile. Eric skillfully stopped his sled, and then watched to see.....Ariel crash into the snow, again.

That was pretty much how the sledding went. Ariel and Eric racing down the hill, and every time Ariel crashing into the snow. But that wasn't the only fun of the day. Eric taught her how to make snow angels, what a snow ball fight was, and how to make a snowman....and then sled right into it! Okay, well maybe she hadn't meant to sled right into it, but she did anyway accidently. By the time the sun set, Ariel was soaked because of the many times she'd crashed into the snow, she was still beaming with a smile.

"How was sledding?" Grimsby asked, as he saw the young couple enter the castle again, their faces glowing. He was clearly amused at finally seeing Eric take an interest at something that was 'fun'. The boy had been beating himself up over the past few days because his wife had been sick; it must have done him some good to spend the day with Ariel, and teach her how to sled.

"Fun!" Ariel giggled, shaking out her red hair from her face. Really, who knew that winter had so many great things about it!

"Oh goodness, come on dear, your taking a bath _now_ to get you warmed up!" Carlotta chided, taking Ariel's arm and dragging her away the bathroom. How is it that every time the child goes outside, she comes back in all dirty?

"But I'm not that cold." Ariel knew it was probably easier to just agree and go along with it...but then again, that wasn't Ariel to just go along with things. Besides, she was a little cold....probably had something to do with all those falls in the snow. Ariel laughed at herself inwardly at that. Only a few days of winter, and she was already using the correct words and terms for everything. It made her feel proud that she'd learned them so quickly.

"Dear, you've got snowflakes in your hair." Carlotta laughed as she looked at the teen, who smiled sheepishly as she was led inside to the bathroom. "Let's just get you into a hot bath before you turn into ice." Carlotta chuckled at the thought of Ariel being ice; the child couldn't sit still for more than a second!

"But--" Ariel stopped there, knowing that she'd never win against Carlotta. She was gently nudged into the bath tub, and she couldn't help it, she sighed with content when she felt the water. The warm water felt nice against her cold skin.

"How was sledding?" Carlotta asked the young teen as she poured water over her head. Ariel's eyes brightened immediately, and she started talking a mile a minute.

"Oh sledding was so much fun! I never knew that going down a hill could be so thrilling! And then Eric taught me how to make snow angels, and snowmen, and---" Ariel was cut off by a gentle laugh from Carlotta.

"Dear, you're going to hurt yourself talking that fast!" Carlotta said with amusement, chuckling. "Now, slow down and talk." The housekeeper said with warmth, pouring a liquid shampoo over the girl's head.

"Okay." Ariel said, taking a breath. "Eric taught me how to make a snowman, and snowball fights...and snow angels too! It was so wonderful!" Ariel said with shining eyes. Carlotta gave a small smile to the young teen, knowing that the child was going to be impossible to get away from the snow now.

"Feeling warmer?" Eric said with a grin as he intercepted Ariel. He blue eyes were shining like usual, and she nodded furiously.

"Only when I'm next to you." She teased, kissing his cheek lightly.

"Of course, why wouldn't you be?" Eric teased back, smiling down at her. Ariel hadn't bothered to put on shoes; they were so uncomfortable anyway! Besides, her dress was long enough that no one would really notice....not that she cared in any way if they did. But she'd have to be careful, because if Carlotta caught her without shoes....


	11. Chapter 11

"Can we go for a walk on the beach? Just you and me?" Ariel asked with high spirits, hoping. The sea always made her feel better and cool water on her sore feet would feel nice. Besides, there was less chance of Carlotta catching her if she was outside.

"Ariel, it's too cold out, and you just took a bath...." Eric sighed deeply as he saw Ariel's happy eyes turn sad within seconds, and she bit her lip sadly. Disappointment ran all along the lines of her face, and Eric tried hard not to look at her blue eyes. Why is it that she used the full intensity of her eyes on him every time he told her no? Almost as if in a daze, Eric looked into her eyes deeply, like if some type of magic wooed him to do so. "Alright darling." He said, and Ariel's once sad eyes turned happy.

"Yay! Thank you Eric!" She laughed, kissing him on the cheek once more, before starting to lead him outside. Eric snapped out of his trance and shook his head at her.

"You really shouldn't do that to me. You know it's not fair." Eric accused, and Ariel's laugh rang out as she tugged on their intertwined hands to make him go faster. Eric had barely enough time to grab both their cloaks before he was outside, on the beach with Ariel.

"Isn't this wonderful?" Ariel laughed, twirling on the sand happily for a few minutes, away from the castle, and falling dizzily on the sand. She laughed at herself for than, and then sighed as she sat up, and stared at the sea. She barely took notice that the weather was so cold as she sighed contentedly again, falling back on the sand with a sigh. She missed the sea, but she hated to worry Eric, so she kept that fact secret from him. She loved land, with all her heart, and being with Eric was....amazing, wonderful, terrific, divine, magnificent....oh words couldn't describe how she loved the land and her legs.

But she'd been raised in the sea; she still felt a pang of homesickness when the thought of it popped into her head. And that pang reminded her of her mother....whom she barely remembered. And her mother led her to think of Attina...and all her other sisters.

"I'm going to have to nail your feet to the floor if you keep running off like that." A soft voice above her laughed, sitting next to her and pulling her head into his lap. "Besides, I'm the one with the lantern, so I don't know why you were running...." Eric teased lightly, to cover up how scared he'd been. One minute she was next to him, and the next, she isn't!

"To get away from you, of course." Ariel teased back, smiling up at him. Eric caressed her cheek in his lap for a moment, before playing with her hair.

"Wait." Eric said suddenly, moving Ariel's head from off of his lap. A bit miffed, Ariel sat up on one arm and looked at him as he pulled something out. "Carlotta will have my head if you get sick tomorrow from being in this cold weather because you didn't have anything on." Eric said to her softly, wrapping the cloak around her, like a blanket, and then moving her head back to his lap he smiled down at her.

"Thank you." Ariel whispered, closing her eyes happily, and letting the darkness of the night hide her tears of homesickness. She said nothing, and Eric said nothing in the still night, the both of them wrapped in their own thoughts.

Eric was trying to remember his boyhood....and his parents. He shuddered unintentionally at the thought of them, and clenched his fist to make sure he didn't cry. But, it was hard not to. Being only four years ago that they passed, Eric assumed he was taking it rather well. He was already married, and he was happy.....so why did that thought of his parents still weigh him down? Sighing to himself softly, he looked down at Ariel, to see if she was sleeping. She wasn't.

Instead, what puzzled him is that she had soft tears running down her face, as she looked to the sea. For once, Eric didn't comment on his wife crying. Sometimes it was good to let the tears you'd been saving since forever come out when you were alone; it was just a mood that everyone experienced.

Ariel knew Eric was crying the minute she felt a tear of his fall on her face. She should try to comfort him....but she didn't feel as though he wanted to be comforted. If he wanted to tell her something, he'd have told her. Sighing to herself, Ariel looked back out at the sea, and then up at the stars. What was that rhyme that Eric had told her about? The one with wishing? Ah, now she remembered! Keeping both eyes trained on the first star she had seen, she sang out quietly the children's rhyme.

_Star light, _

_Star bright, _

_First star I see tonight, _

_I wish I may, _

_I wish I might, _

_Get the wish,_

_I wish tonight. _

Ariel looked up at the star intently, not knowing that her voice had pulled Eric out of his thoughts and he was staring at her, and Ariel made a wish.

"I wish....for....for....the sea. I'm so sorry Eric." Ariel whispered out, to the amusement of her husband. She thought she could hide it so well, her feelings of homesickness.

"Sorry? For being homesick?" Eric asked her, raising a brow. Her eyes went wide at the fact that he knew how she felt, but she didn't make any move to get away from his lap.

"How did you know?" She asked him quietly, staring at the waves again. She had hidden that secret so well, how could he figure it out?  
"Ariel, you were born and raised in the sea. That's where your only father is, and where your sisters are. It's normal to feel homesick for the first home you ever knew. I would be worried if you weren't a bit sad at what you lost." Eric said quietly back, intertwining her hand with his to show that he was here for her.

"What I l-lost?" Ariel repeated, coming to terms with the idea. She hadn't lost the sea; she had just....lost her fins.....which were a part of the sea....and a part of her. Oh.

"You never realize what you have, until it's gone. Darling, don't think for one moment that I'm mad at you for feeling homesick. I just hope that you still love living on land with me." Eric told her softly, noticing how she seemed thoughtful at that answer and question.

"Of course I love living on land with you Eric! And....thank you." Ariel answered with a small teasing grin. She'd gotten lucky, very lucky. Not only did her husband understand, he was also not mad!

"What am I being thanked for exactly?" Eric asked, watching as her eyes started to droop with a smile.

"For being my pillow. Good night." And with that Ariel fell asleep on his lap. Eric couldn't help himself; he chuckled at the sight, before picking her up in his arms and taking her back to the castle. She really didn't weigh all that much, so it wasn't hard for him to take her back to their room. The hard part was waking her up so much that she could put on her nightgown. But he finally got her to, and then she flopped on the bed and fell right asleep. Eric smiled at his young wife, and blew out the candle before coming into the bed next to her.

"Goodnight love." He whispered, before falling off into dream land himself. Eric dreamed of his parents, but that dream soon turned into a nightmare, from which he couldn't escape.


	12. Chapter 12

"Eric, Eric!" A whispered voice carried across the room, which was filled with first dawns light that had somehow managed to peak out of the closed curtains. Eric felt his arm being shaken....hard, and that's when he woke up.

"Ariel? What's wrong love?" He asked, opening his eyes and sitting up in bed with Ariel, who looked at him with wide eyes that were filled with fear. She tentatively reached out her index finger to his face, and wiped off a tear that had fallen on his cheek.

"You were having a nightmare....you looked sad." Ariel said quietly, staring at his blue eyes with hers intently.

"It's nothing you to need to concern yourself over love...." Eric said, yawning as his head went back to the pillow. Ariel watched him carefully as she too lied down, and finally she lost her patience.

"What was it about?" She questioned, still quiet, but with a little annoyance creeping into her voice. Patience was an acquired skill....one that she'd yet to require.

"It's nothing Ariel. Go back to sleep." Eric answered, trying to keep the irritation from entering his voice. But Ariel was stubborn, and she refused to sleep until he told her.

"Tell me." It was an order, but from the way she said it.....it seemed as though a kitten would have been more dangerous. Eric lazily opened one eye, yawned, and then shook his head.

"Again, it's nothing you need to concern yourself over love. Just go back to sleep." Eric said, closing his eyes again and trying to get Ariel's annoyed expression from his head away.

"Pwease tewl me Eriwick." Eric opened his eyes to see his wife right on top of him, her eyes full and a pout that would break anyone's heart. Gently, he moved her off of him, and back onto the bed beside him, but she never once broke her pout. Damn it! She knew that he couldn't resist that pout!

"It was about my parents." Eric finally answered, and Ariel didn't laugh, didn't cry....actually, she didn't say a thing. She just messed with his hair, avoiding his eyes because she knew it was uncomfortable for him to talk about his mother and father.

"Now can we go back to sleep?" Eric asked her with a glimmer of a smile, forcing his nightmare out of his brain. Ariel made a face at him for getting over it so quickly, but snuggled up to him anyway, letting her head rest against his chest.

"For the record, I'm not tired." Ariel said, ironically before falling back asleep with her husband. Soon enough they had to wake up again, but Ariel didn't mind as she only had one question in her mind.

"Eric?" Ariel asked tentatively, pulling off her nightgown and slipping into her undergarments. Being naked in the middle of winter was never a good idea, so Ariel wanted to get a warm dress on as soon as possible. Already morning had come, and Eric had seemed to forget about the nightmare....but Ariel hadn't.

"Yes love?" Eric answered, coming up next to her and smiling. Without even a word from Ariel, he tied the straps in the back of her dress for her, knowing that she couldn't reach.

"Um...never mind." Ariel said quickly, deciding not to ask him this question. What if he got mad? What if he got sad?

"No, I want to know. Tell me Ariel." Eric said to her softly, kissing the top of her head before pulling on his boots, as she brushed out her hair.

"It's nothing." Ariel answered, a bit unsure of herself. Setting the brush back down on the vanity, she bit her lip, fighting in herself to ask him, or not.

"Ariel...." Eric warned, placing his arms around her, in protection. Of what? Ariel didn't know, but she liked his warm embrace. "I want to know what's bothering you darling. Tell me." Eric urged, but didn't push. No, he never pushed. He seemed to know when to stop asking her questions that she didn't want to answer, he never made her tell him if she really didn't want to.

"Later." Ariel answered, postponing the question. He wouldn't forget, she knew that for a fact. But any small amount of time given would be best.

"Alright." Eric said, putting his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "The Christmas Eve ball is in a week."

"Christmas....Eve?" What was he talking about? Christmas, she knew from collected human books in her grotto, was a holiday celebrated on land. She knew a lot from the books that she'd read, and most of it made more sense now that she was human....but what was this 'Eve' Eric was talking about?

"It's...a holiday. The day before Christmas....but you probably don't know what Christmas is either, do you?" Eric asked, knowing that sometimes she didn't understand what he said to her. He really tried hard to explain things to her in a way that she'd understand, but sometimes, she brought out questions that confused him too.

"I found books on Christmas.....they were in my grotto..." Ariel took a deep breath to calm herself at the thought of her grotto. Something's you just can't overlook, no matter how much you try. Of course she understood why her father had done it. And she knew that he felt awful about destroying her collection....and that was part of the reason she became human, a very small part, but it was still a part of why he changed her. Still, no matter how hard she tried, she could never forgive him for taking away her precious momentous.

"It's alright darling." Eric soothed, knowing how hard it was to her losing her grotto. It still hurt her, even after months of happiness, she couldn't get over it. "So you know what Christmas is?" He changed the subject purposely, to make her feel more at ease.

"Well.....somewhat. But I don't want an explanation _now_! I'm hungry, and I'm going to get breakfast." Ariel said with a smile, standing up and grabbing her husband's arm. Eric smiled back at her, but more troubling thoughts were in his mind. What was she hiding from him?

For the young royal couple it was an exhausting day. First a meeting, then while Ariel had a fitting for a new ball gown for the Christmas ball (it was going to be green!), Eric was in the throne room, and after that was more meetings that just so happened to be right after the other_. Finally_, Eric and Ariel were done with the day.

"I'm so worn out!" Ariel said, kicking off her shoes and sipping warm cider by the fireplace in the library. No one would come in the library to see how 'improper' she was for having no shoes on and how she had picked up her dress so that it was just below her knee. It was as if there was a force field around the places the young couple always were, most people too timid to even walk by. Of course, that never stopped Carlotta or Grimsby from checking in on them every few hours. And it also never stopped Carlotta for chiding her for doing something she shouldn't have.

"It was a long day." Eric murmured back to his wife in agreement. He was worn out, but that didn't keep him from smiling as he saw her bare legs showing because her dress was raised. Still smiling, Eric pulled down the skirt so that only her bare feet showed, but Ariel took no notice. She just held her cider in both hands, and stared at the fire. Eric said nothing at first, as he sat by her on the couch, but then his curiosity got the better of him.

"Are you going to ask me what you wanted to ask me this morning, now?" Ariel was pulled out her thoughts suddenly with his voice. Knowing that there was no way of getting around it now; she nodded, but didn't meet his eyes.

"What...um...happened to your parents?" She asked softly, still not looking Eric.

"Oh." Eric wasn't mad per say, he was just....shocked. Though, with Ariel's curiosity, he should have seen this coming.

"No, I take it back. N-Never mind." Ariel said quickly, getting up from the couch even quicker. She was scared, Eric realized. Gently, he reached out to grab her arm, and then gently placed her back on the couch next to him.

"My parents had decided to go sailing on my father's ship for their anniversary when I was 16. I was planning to go with them; it _would_ be their twentieth anniversary. But the night before their anniversary there was a small rain shower, nothing that bad, and I just wanted to spend a few moments out in the rain playing with Max. A few moments turned into an hour, and my parents finally caught me out on the beach, rolling around with Max. They practically dragged me inside, and the next morning, I was sick.

My parents were supposed to be leaving that morning, but I was running a fever, and Mother said there was no way I was going. She had wanted to stay with me, postpone the trip with my father to maybe the next day, but I didn't want to hold her back, and told them to go without me, even though I wanted to go with them. A storm came that night.....and I never saw them again." Eric said the story carefully, as if choosing every word he said was a challenge, which in truth, it was. He lost both his parents in one night, and became an actual ruler of the kingdom at only sixteen. Thinking about that, he clenched in fists and tried not to cry in front of Ariel. It would only scare her to see him so...._vulnerable_.

Ariel finally met his eyes after she noticed how tight his fist was clenched, and she did the first thing that came to mind. Leaning forward quickly, she caught his lips in an embrace, hoping he'd feel better after this.

Eric on the other hand, wasn't so pleased. "Ariel!" He said, breaking off from the kiss. Ariel looked at him with wide eyes, but kept her mouth shut as her husband fumed. "My God, is that your solution to everything?! Just a kiss and the entire world becomes _happy_?! Damn it Ariel!" Eric growled, keeping his voice level but with much harshness in it. He just told her the entire story about how he lost his parents, and she wanted to mix that with a kiss?! Something happy?!

"S-Sorry. I-I just wanted to make you feel better." Ariel whispered, keeping her gaze down at the rug. She scooted away from him on the couch, and tried to keep her gaze directed at the rug, and only the rug. Not at Eric who was still fuming. Kissing after a sad life experience, not the best idea.

"Well you've done an excellent job, _congratulations_! Bitch." Eric said with sarcasm dripping from his voice like venom. Then he noticed the tears in Ariel's eyes, and how her face started to get red, and how a sob escaped her mouth. Oh no. What had he done?!


	13. Chapter 13

"S-Sorry." With that, Ariel got up but Eric was faster than her, and he blocked her way of running out of the library. Desperately as tears started falling off of her eyes, she tried to maneuver a way around him, but he was firm as he gripped her shoulders, and looked at both her eyes deeply, telling her not to run.

"Ariel. Forgive me darling; that was out of line." Eric said softly, not letting go of her shoulders, or his gaze at her eyes. He had overreacted, and he had really let anger get the best of him.

"L-l-let go." Ariel said, tears running down her face at a frantic speed. When Eric only gripped her shoulder's tighter, she cried even more, and pounded her fists against his chest, in anger, in pain, who knew? But she didn't do any damage; she knew that for a fact.

Eric said nothing but watched as she pounded her fist's against him, crying, until finally she just collapsed against him, and he held her tightly in his arms. She sobbed softly into his chest, her head shaking back and forth as she tried to escape, but only ended up crying harder against him.

"Shh Ariel. Don't cry my love, it's alright." Eric said, as Ariel weakly shook her head back and forth again, crying from the pain of what he said, the pain of homesickness, the pain of everything. She felt Eric rub her back in an effort to soothe her, but didn't try to stop her tears besides the occasional comforting words. She felt herself being held tighter in his embrace, she felt herself being sat on the couch, but tears still fell from her eyes so she didn't really see. Plus, her mind was all muddy right now, nothing really making sense. Finally, out of exhaustion she fell asleep on Eric.

"Ariel?" Eric whispered quietly, looking down to see her still tear stained face, but her eyes were closed in sleep. Letting out a relieved breathe, he sighed as he pushed back a tendril of her hair, just to reveal a still tear stained face. Shaking his head, but with a certain gentleness, he lifted her up easily into his arms and walked back to their room. Then he helped her change into a nightgown before tucking her back into the bed next to him. And as he fell asleep, he wondered how the hell he was going to fix this mess.

"Glad to see sleeping beauty finally woke up." Eric murmured to a sleepy Ariel, as she opened her eyes. He had let her sleep in for a bit, knowing that she was probably exhausted from the day before. Now came the hard part. The part where she remembered what had happened the night before, or had by now forgotten about it. Or if she was going to tell him why she had cried as though her heart was breaking last night.

"Hm? What time is it?" Ariel wondered, yawning as she sat up in bed and stretched out her arms. Last night she had the strangest nightmare that her and Eric had a fight and she had fallen asleep on top of him, exhaustion taking over. Whatever, it was probably nothing more than another nightmare.

"About two in the afternoon. You've been asleep all day." Eric said with a smile, hoping to God that she thought the night before was just a nightmare.

"Two in the afternoon? Why didn't you wake me up?" Ariel asked, rubbing her eyes.

"You had a long day yesterday; and I didn't want to wake you up when I knew all you would do is go back to sleep." Eric teased, and Ariel shot him a look. Was she mad? Did she even remember what happened after that long sleep?

"Why didn't _you_ sleep in today then?" Ariel shot back, sitting up in the bed a bit groggily. She resisted the urge to press her fingers to her temples, since her head was pounding. No need to worry Eric.

"Someone needed to make sure you didn't slip into a coma." He teased again, leaning in and catching her lips in a kiss. Just what he'd been waiting for all day. Surprisingly, it was Ariel who pulled away first, and Eric just watched her in amusement.

"Well, I'm up now. And I'm going to get dressed." Ariel said, kissing her husband's cheek before skipping off to her dressing room. Eric laughed as she skipped her movements graceful. It seemed as though she had forgotten about it.

"A little bit of help would be appreciated." Ariel's laugh rang out as she somehow had gotten her arm stuck within her dress, and her other arm was hanging above her head at an awkward angle, stuck because of a lace.

"I knew it was only a matter of time..." Eric laughed, coming up beside her to tie the laces. Ariel pulled her hair away from her back, and sighed.

"You know, I do realize that last night was **not **a dream, right?" She said with a quiet but hard laugh, and Eric's eyes widened, but he kept untangling the laces and tried to tie them for her. "But I know you're sorry, and I should have been more sympathetic, so we can call it even." Ariel said with another small laugh, dipping her head back to see Eric's amused but worried face. She really didn't want to fight, so she was just going to try to forget about it.

"Even?" She was up to something, Eric just knew it. But on the other hand, he was glad that she didn't want to press the matter, and she was willing to forgive him. Even if he wanted to know desperately why she cried so much the night before, he could wait and ask her later.

"Well...okay, maybe not that even." Ariel admitted, with a small half smile. Eric turned her around to face him, and she giggled.

"What are you up to Ariel?" Eric asked in a warning voice, hoping that whatever she had planned wasn't dangerous.

"I wanted to go horseback riding today, with you. Can we?!" The excitement was clear in her voice as she asked the question, and her eyes widened in anticipation. Eric had to smile at her, and he brushed a tendril of her hair away from her eyes.

"If that's the price that I have to pay, then.....alright. We can go horseback riding today." Ariel's eyes got wide at that, and she jumped happily, and wrapped her arms around her husband.

"Thank you!" She said, hugging him tightly. Eric smile, and kissed the top of her head. Sometimes she could be so childish, but other times she could be such an adult, it amazed him.

"But first...." at this Ariel removed her arms from around him, and looked up at his blue eyes with question. Now he was giving her conditions? She'd never understand what was going through his head.

"First....?" Ariel questioned, feeling like a child. Eric just genuinely smiled at her, and turned her around, that her back faced him. He brought his face to her shoulder to that she could only see it if she turned her head.

"First, you might want to finish putting on your dress." He teased, kissing her cheek. Ariel laughed lightly at that, knowing that she'd go horseback riding that day....as long as her dress was on.


	14. Chapter 14

"Stormy! Stop it that tickles!" Ariel giggled, as she held out a mitten hand full of oats to her foal, which was growing bigger. Soon he wouldn't be a foal anymore; and then she'd get to ride him! But for now, he was still a foal, and now since he had finished his oats, he was rubbing his cheek against hers. Ariel giggled again, and patted his face with enthusiasm.

"I didn't know you and Stormy were so close." A voice chuckled behind Ariel, causing her to jerk and move her hand off of Stormy as another pair of hands was wrapped around her waist.

"You say that as if you jealous." Ariel teased, as she reached out a hand to her foal once more.

"I'm not jealous. But I do want you to know who you became human for...." With that Eric's lips were at hers, and Ariel returned the kiss as well, hoping she'd never get out of this embrace, but Stormy brought his head in between the two lovers at once and neighed to break them up.

"I don't think Stormy approves of me much." Eric noted with humor, as he held Ariel in his embrace.

"Well you _are_ trying to steal me away...." Ariel laughed, giving her horse a peck on the forehead. "Besides, he's just trying to protect me, isn't that right Stormy?" Ariel asked her foal with a sweet voice, and the young horse neighed in agreement.

"Well then, I guess I'm outnumbered here. I just came to tell you that Strawberry is all saddled up, but if you and Stormy want to continue your little moment....." Eric teased, walking away from his wife. Ariel looked at Eric walking away for a moment, and then gave a quick peck to Stormy.

"Eric! Wait for---oomph!" Ariel tripped over a stack of hay, and fell right on her rear. Eric couldn't help it; he laughed. Ariel smiled at his laugh, but took his offered hand anyway.

"One of these days you're going to really hurt yourself if you don't start paying attention Ariel." Eric warned, still smiling. Ariel stuck her tongue out at him, and walked ahead to Strawberry and Brownie, who were both waiting patiently for their riders outside the stables.

"Okay, I can do this. One, two...three!" Ariel tried to reach her leg over to the other side of Strawberry, just like Eric had taught her, but didn't manage to reach it and fell on her rear once again. Eric's laugh sounded behind her, but Ariel wasn't giving up so easily. She tried again to get on the horse....and again.....and again....and again. Each time she only managed to fall on her rear, but as determined as she was, she tried doing it once more....and suddenly, for a moment, she felt weightless. Then she was sat on the saddle, and felt the presence of hands on her waist.

"I'm afraid if I let you try it again you'll hurt yourself." Eric told her softly, but with a teasing edge to his words.

"Thank you." Ariel said with a smile at her husband. He smiled back, and got up on his own horse with ease.

"Ladies first." Eric said with a mischievous glint in his eyes as his hand gestured towards the direction of the meadow, which in winter would be the perfect place to go that no one would follow.

"Fine. Go Strawberry, go!" Ariel said, having Strawberry race off into the direction of the meadow. Ariel didn't have to look back to know that her husband's jaw had just dropped. This was no different than a Sea Horse, and she'd been waiting for just the right time to prove to Eric that she wasn't such a baby when it came to horses.

"Ariel! Wait! You're going too fast!" Eric called out desperately to her, after about twenty minutes. They had passed the meadow a few minutes before, and Eric had just thought she didn't want to go to the meadow. But now he realized that she had no control over Strawberry, who was usually the calmest horse.

"I-I can't." Ariel called back, trying to pull back on her reigns to make Strawberry stop going so fast. The horse got the message, but just barely as she tried to stop. And Ariel, who hadn't been holding on all that tightly, was thrown, and she hit the ground hard.

"Ariel!" Eric said with wide eyes, jumping off of Brownie and getting to his wife. But before he even got to her, she had sat up and looked at him, clutching her right wrist in her left arm.

"I think I might have broken my wrist." Ariel said, holding in her tears as her throat tightened. Her right wrist hurt terribly, a sharp but somehow aching pain went through it every time she moved it. Grimacing, she looked up at Eric, who had an intense expression on his face. Gingerly, he moved her left arm off of her right wrist and took a look at the wrist.

"It's broken alright." He said with a sigh, but he got up anyway and went to his saddle bag with a few emergency medical items. Like medical tape. Going back to where Ariel was on the ground he took her left arm away from her right wrist and gently started to wrap the tape around the wrist.

"Was does that do?" Ariel asked, wincing deeply but not crying. No, she wouldn't cry. She was going to be fine as long as Eric was with her.

"It's medical tape." Eric explained, but when he looked up at Ariel's confused expression, her managed a small smile. "It will help keep your wrist stable, at least for now until we get back to the castle. That way it won't hurt as much." He was surprised how well she was taking the pain, not complaining or crying, but wincing.

"Okay...." Ariel said, still unsure of the white tape around her wrist. Eric gently, with making sure with little pain, let her left arm hold her wrist again.

"Did you hurt yourself anywhere else?" Eric asked, playing doctor at the moment. He wanted to be sure she was alright.

"No...I think I only broke my wrist." Ariel answered, still protectively holding her wrist.

"Are you sure you're okay? It _was_ a nasty fall...." Eric said, but his wife shook her head at him. Her blue eyes weren't mad, but they held some trace of the pain in her wrist.

"I'm fine. I just went a little too fast, that's all." To be perfectly honest, she wasn't fine. But she sucked up the pain, and put on a brave face for Eric.

"Alright then, here, I'll help you up on Strawberry." Eric picked her up in seconds, and Ariel didn't complain for once as he set her down on the saddle. "Be careful this time." He warned Ariel, kissing her hand.

"I will, don't worry." Ariel said wincing, knowing that she really wanted to cry every time her wrist moved. It took all she had, plus more not to cry out in pain. But Eric could see past that in a moment, and he gave her a tiny comforting smile.

"I'm going to tie your reigns here to Brownie, okay? That way I can make sure you won't make a run for it again." Eric teased so he could make her feel better, and Ariel laughed a little.

Somehow, through all the bouncing and everything that goes along with horseback riding, she managed not to cry out in pain. But it was just barely. Ariel got used to holding her wrist, lightly so she didn't alarm Eric, and it took all the strength she had not to cry. But Eric was smarter than that, and hugged her against him for a moment, letting her know it would be alright.

"A fall?" Grimsby asked as the young couple came through the front of the castle, totally disheveled (even more so than from usual horseback riding).

"Of course." Eric said with a grin despite himself. Ariel gave him a weak grin in return, noticing how the pain of walking was worse than the pain of being on a horse that's walking.

"I hope you didn't go to fast for her Eric." Grimsby chided as he looked at Ariel's taped up wrist. That boy. He couldn't just stay at a normal speed for Ariel, he had to show off.

"Grim, she _outran_ me!" Eric said with a laugh again, beaming down at Ariel for a moment, who for once was grateful of Carlotta's intrusion upon looking at her.

"Oh just look at you! Eric, did you lead her through _mud_?! Never mind that now, come on dear, there's a hot bath that's waiting just for you!" Carlotta placed a gentle hand on Ariel's non-injured wrist, and the young teen swallowed in a big gulp all the pain in her wrist.

"One simple ride, and just look at how dirty you get! Tsk, I'm going to have to seal you up in an air tight bubble next time you go out!" Carlotta said disapprovingly to Ariel, who in turn kept her head hanging, like she was remorseful, but really she had tears that were in her eyes from all the pain.

"It wasn't my fault this time though. I fell." Ariel, what are you doing, the teen's mind asked itself, wondering if she had completely lost it.

"You _fell_?! That's even worse! Ooh, no wonder you have your wrist all taped up!" Carlotta said with more sympathy in her voice. "Let's get these clothes off of you quickly so you can get into a nice hot bath, and clean up a little. Then the doctor is going to see to that wrist." Carlotta said with a chuckle, helping Ariel get her warm dress, scarf, and mittens off. The housekeeper could tell that something was bothering the young teen, but she let the girl be, knowing that Ariel would talk soon. Then she helped Ariel take off the medical tape off her wrist, and Ariel kept herself in check, making sure not to yelp in pain or cry.

"If you're not careful enough dear, one of these days you're going to really hurt yourself!" Carlotta chided, taking the girl's limp hand from out of the water and looking at it. Ah, broken, just as she thought. "Oh my. You broke your wrist dear. Tsk, poor thing." The housekeeper asked, frowning at the wrist. Of course Ariel probably already knew that it was broken, because it looked like the girl was in pain.

"I-I-it hurts." Ariel whispered, biting her lip as tears fell down her face. Ariel winced as Carlotta placed her wrist back in the water gently, before trying to stop the girl's tears.

"Hush honey, I know it does. But just wait a little bit and you can be back to normal in no time, okay? Ooh poor thing." Carlotta said, kissing the girl's head in comfort. Ariel bit back tears as Carlotta fussed about her, making sure she was clean head to toe before handing her back to Eric.

"Ariel, love, what's wrong?!" Eric asked softly but sharply when he saw her, wondering what her reason was for that pained face. He held her in his embrace tightly before Ariel spoke again to him.

"Eric.....my wrist hurts." Ariel said, taking her injured wrist from the cradle she'd created with her other hand, and showing him as she started crying softly into his chest. She couldn't hold back the tears any longer, it hurt too much.

"I know. I'm sorry." Eric said, grimacing at himself. He had forgotten about her broken wrist because while she had bathed, he'd taken a quick bath too and the hot water had really relaxed him. But now wasn't the time to think about that. Now was the time for her to get to the doctor so that a cast could be put on her wrist. As if out of his thoughts, and into the sitting room, the doctor just appeared then, surprising Eric.

"Carlotta." The doctor said sheepishly to the young king, before turning his gaze on the Queen's hand. Definite fracture....not too bad....she just barely missed getting a sling.

"How bad is the break?" Ariel asked, as she took in a deep breathe, and tried hard not to cry out in pain. Who knew that broken wrist's hurt so much?!

"Not too bad. You won't have to get a sling; that's the good news. The bad news, you'll had to have a cast on it for about another month or so to heal the break." The doctor said to Ariel, who only nodded, biting her lip further.

"Will she be in pain?" Eric wondered, realizing that Ariel trying hard not to cry out in pain. He smiled a half smile at her, his little mermaid, and brushed a few remaining tears from.

"After tonight, I doubt it." The doctor explained, finishing up the cast. When the doctor finished and left the young king and his queen be, Eric took the opportunity to look over Ariel, while she tried to flex her fingers and move the cast.

Eric stole a look at her new cast, which showed her fingers, but went to an inch above the crease in her elbow. A hard material that made sure her break would heal properly. And it would also probably be the annoyance that she would have to deal with for the next month.

"Sorry love." He said, kissing her forehead. At least _that_ wasn't injured. She looked up, surprised, but then only smiled.


	15. Chapter 15

"I'll take that as an 'I love you'." She teased, as Eric only shook his head at her and grinned widely, showing his dimples.

"You are one of a kind, you know that?" He said grinning, as she only smiled an entrancing smile at him.

"Of course I am. How many husband's can say their wives were mermaids who gave up their voices to a sea witch so they could get the man they loved to kiss them and live happily ever after?" Ariel asked with a glint of mischief in her eyes. Eric only shook his head and ran his fingers through her hair.

"Only one wife can say that. And she's the best wife there ever was." Eric said as he leaned down and caught her lips in an embrace. Ariel only pulled away a moment later, blushing slightly as she giggled.

"Your making me blush!" She admonished with a small giggle to show that she was only kidding around. Then she stole a look at her cast and sighed. So that's what a human cast looks like....doesn't seem all that different than in the water. Except the color and texture....but it was still a hard and unwelcome thing on her arm.

"I only state the truth." Eric said with a laugh to Ariel's giggles, as she rested her head against his chest on the couch.

The next morning's light was an unwelcome one to Ariel, but it woke her up anyway. She looked at Eric for a moment, and then smiled to herself at how magical he looked. She started to move off the bed slowly, so she didn't wake him, but something hard brushed against her waist. Her arm. Hm.

Shrugging, she walked over to the balcony doors, and opened them quietly so she didn't wake Eric. She was greeted by a rush of cold air, and her eyes opened widely. She quickly stepped outside and closed the doors so all the air didn't wake Eric up. She wanted a few minutes to clear out her head.

Life on land. Even after months of happiness here on land, that still sounded so strange in her mind. She had gotten her wish. She was with Eric now, and she was a Queen too. Everything in life was.....nice. Oh sure her wrist was broken, but she'd always pulled dangerous stunts back in the sea, and that usually landed her with some part of her body hurting.

She smiled in spite of herself at the thought, how simple minded those stunts had seemed back then. How many times did she get in trouble for doing something that she classified as 'fun' but everyone said was 'dangerous.' Ha! As if danger stood any chance with her in the way. Even now, look at her. She knows how to ride a horse, and yet she still speeds it up on purpose to go fast. Fun, or dangerous? She laughed at that, knowing that if Eric could hear her thoughts, she'd be locked up in their room for the next hundred years.

"I never thought you were capable of getting up this early." A soft voice murmured behind her, the said owner of that voice wrapping his arms around her petite waist.

"What do you mean?" Ariel inquired in a soft voice back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"The sun is _just_ rising love. Come back to bed." He said in a quiet voice, startling Ariel. Not his voice is what startled her, but the rising sun. She hadn't noticed that it was just barely dawn, she wasn't paying attention.

"I'm not tired." Ariel stated quietly, dropping her arms from his neck. Instead, she had both of them lightly touch the rail and stare out at the sea. How beautiful it looks when dawn hits it. But sunsets....sunset's still weren't the source of happiness to her now as they had been when she'd sneak up and go to the surface to watch them.

"Ariel, it's too early to be awake. The sun is barely up." Eric kept his tone at a calm level, but inside him he wanted to drag her back to bed and make her go back to sleep.

"But I'm not---" Eric took one hand off her waist and placed it over her mouth so she couldn't talk.

"Going to stay out here. It's too cold anyway." Eric said with a wink, taking her hand and leading her back inside. Ariel just gave him a this-is-unfair look, which made him chuckle as he closed the French doors to their balcony.

"I would have gotten something warm on." Ariel grumbled as she sat on the bed, moving her legs to the side of her. Eric sat on the bed with her, and smiled.

"No you wouldn't have. You would have been your stubborn self and stayed put if I didn't drag you out sooner or later." Eric said with a smile to Ariel, but she wouldn't smile back. He frowned at this, not understanding what was wrong.

"I'm not talking to you." Ariel grumbled, turning her head to face the wall. Child, her mind whispered. You're such a child, even though you claim not to be.

"Really?" Eric said, raising an eyebrow. When she nodded her head, which was turned away from him, and all her red hair went everywhere, he had to grin. "Alright then, I guess if you're not talking to me, then I'll just have to.....kiss you." Eric said with a mischievous smile, brushing his lips against hers as she fell backwards on the bed. When they finally pulled away, they were both out of breath, but still smiled when they saw each other.

"You always know how to make me feel better." She murmured to him. He grinned, and kissed her lips with warmth again, as she was lying down, and he was sitting up over her.

"I am your husband Ariel." He answered with a teasing grin, kissing her lips once again, loving every moment of it. If he could, he would keep her in this kiss forever, but he was a king, and she was a Queen. They had to be adults _sometime_. He broke off finally, and lied back on his pillow with a small smirk as Ariel pouted, but reluctantly lied down on her pillow as well, facing him.

"I was thinking...." Ariel started her face thoughtful as she looked at Eric, a bit shy at what she was going to ask. He only grinned and brushed a lock of her hair away from her face.

"That's never good." He teased, and Ariel gave him a sour look, which made him smile, showing his dimples.

"Like I was saying, I was thinking. What do you want for Christmas?" She wondered, knowing that people gave each other gift's during this holiday, for some reason or another.

"What do I want for Christmas....hm." Eric said as he playfully put a finger to his chin and pretended to think hard. "Well, she has the prettiest red hair in the entire world, and these bright blue eyes that would put the sea to shame. She has this beautiful singing voice that she blesses me with everyday, and she's so amazingly wonderful inside and out that I'm still positive that I don't deserve her." Eric said in a light, playful tone that made Ariel flush a deep shade of red. But just to have some fun, she decided to play along.

"Oh? Are you talking about Max?" She asked with a giggle as Eric only gave her a skeptic look. Max? Could she have picked anyone less....slobbery?

"I said _she_ was beautiful inside and out, not that _he_ was a knuckle head." Eric said, trying to keep his face serious, but not succeeding. He broke out into a small laugh along with Ariel, who was grateful for Eric's sense of humor.


	16. Chapter 16

Winter passed, and with it came new knowledge to Ariel about...everything really. Like what mistletoe was (Eric and she spent quite a lot of time under there!) or how decorating a tree could be fun! Presents at Christmas, and a wonderful ball, it was a Christmas she'd never forget (mainly because it was her first). New Year's was just as fun, and Ariel always had questions that Eric was happy to answer for her. Like, what champagne was, and why he wasn't too keen on the idea of her drinking it, not that it stopped her. Soon enough, the young couple realized that winter had passed, and now was spring, the time when flowers started to bloom again, and love was in the air.

"Eric, where are we going?" Ariel asked with a smile, as her husband just grinned his dimples at her.

"We're going to the meadow. I thought you'd realize that by now." He said musingly, and Ariel playfully shoved him.

"I would have known if you told me earlier." She said with a smile still on her face. The cast of her broken wrist had been taken off weeks ago, and Ariel was glad. It was just so hard to pull on her dress sleeves with something that big.

"I wanted to keep you guessing." Eric said, as they arrived at the meadow. He jumped off the carriage, and stuck out a hand to help Ariel, but she snorted at the gesture and jumped off herself.

"Just being a gentleman." He reminded, taking her hand in his.

"I know." Ariel said, before looking around. Oh how pretty everything looked! Flower's everywhere, and the tree had apples on it, and, and oh how pretty! "It's so....beautiful!" She said with wide eyes, taking in all of it.

"It is pretty." Eric agreed, his gaze looking at all the roses and other flowers around this garden. His gaze was averted from his wife for maybe, two minutes as he stared at the flower's, thinking of which reminded him most of Ariel, when he suddenly heard a scream from his wife. He turned quickly, and looked to see...a hive of angry bees attacking her. She was on the ground in a fetal position crying as the bees stung her. Eric, working on impulse, grabbed the back of her dress and pulled her away from the angry bee hive, next to the carriage. The bees stopped attacking, trying to protect their hive from another attack.

"Eric they hurt me." Ariel whimpered, showing him her bare arms which had a few stings on them. At least they hadn't attacked her face.

"They were protecting their hive Ariel." Eric said in a soft voice, taking her arm and pulling out the stingers carefully. He knew that the less time with stingers, the better.

"I don't care. It still hurts." Ariel sniffed, but watched as Eric pulled out all of the little thorns in her arm. "What does that do?" She asked curiously, and Eric smiled.

"Bees have stingers, which have venom in them. The less time with the stingers in your arm, the better off you'll be. And if it makes you feel any better, once a bee stings you it dies." Eric said with a grin still on his face. He knew that her arms must hurt a lot, but at least she wasn't crying anymore.

"Why were they protecting their hive?" Ariel asked, rubbing her eyes which were still pretty wet.

"They thought you were going to attack their hive so they protected it." Eric answered as he pulled out the last of the stingers in her arms. "See? No big deal." Eric said with a smile as his wife moved her arms unsurely.

"It hurts." Ariel said holding in her tears, and Eric sighed but brought her closer to him on the ground.

"I know it does my little mermaid. I know it does." He said softly, as Ariel's tears started to fall from her face. He wiped them off her face easily, as she cried softly. It was painful to get one sting, but ten like she had (yes, he counted; 7 on her left arm, 3 on the other) must be very painful.

"Sorry for crying. I'm such a child, I know." Ariel said, once she wiped off the last of her tears. Eric was genuinely surprised that she would apologize for something so silly. And that she'd call herself a child, nonsense to him.

"Oh Ariel." Eric sighed, running his fingers through her red hair. "I don't care if you cry, because I'll always be here to comfort you. Don't apologize for something so silly. And I don't think you're a child; in any way, shape or....no, I got distracted at shape." Eric teased his hand placing itself at her small waist. Ariel grinned, and turned her head upwards to see him better, since her head had been resting on his chest.

"Stop it Eric." She warned, but with a playful smile to show that she was teasing. She was lucky that she fell in love with such an understanding person, and that he fell in love with her back.

"Mhm, is there any way that I could not love you? Your curiosity, your hair, your eyes..." Eric listed, holding her close to him. The closer she was to him, the more he could convince himself that this wasn't some dream. This was his dream girl, the girl who'd saved him from drowning when he was unconscious! The one that risked everything she had, just for the slight chance that he might fall in love with her, even without a voice. This was his little mermaid, his Ariel.

"Ugh, these bee bites sure are itchy." Ariel said scrunching up her nose as she scratched at her arms furiously. Eric smiled down at her, but caught both her hands before she could do much damage.

"Don't scratch. They'll only get worse." Eric said to her with a smile in his voice. Then he looked down at her arms, which didn't look like just bee bites to him. Red bumps covered both her arms, in places where he was sure no bee had stung her. But what...? He looked up at the oak tree for a second, looking at the leaves growing from the tree near the hive, and then back to Ariel, realization dawning on him.

"Ariel, did you by any chance touch any of the leaves on that tree?" He asked slowly, looking at her arms. Ariel furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips trying to remember if she had. Then her face lit up.

"Oh yeah! I was next to the um...uh..._oh-k_ _tree_, and the leaves started to tickle me. And I thought they were kind of pretty, so I started to play with them and I was laughing a lot because they tickled my arms but then I saw the bee hive....and I touched it." Ariel said, looking up at her worried husband wonderingly. What did she do this time? If those leaves were poison, she swore in her mind.

"I should get you back to the castle." Eric said, standing up in a hurry.

"Why?" Ariel asked, standing up too, and following slowly behind him as he walked towards the carriage. She scratched furiously at her arms as she did the itchiness increasing. She realized that the itchiness was spreading more towards her upper arms, where her sleeves were covering. Hm, probably just a normal reaction to the bees.

"Stop scratching at it Ariel. You'll only make things worse." Eric warned worriedly, realizing that she starting to scratch her upper arms. He'd gotten into poison oak when he was younger, but it had taken _hours_ for the rash to appear, and even then it didn't spread more than an inch because of his scratching! Maybe she was allergic to it....that would seem like the most accurate thing.

"Eric, what are you talking about? You're starting to scare me." Ariel said, taking a step back with a worried expression on her face now. Her bottom lip started to quiver as she still scratched at the poison oak all along her arms, pushing up her sleeves to scratch more. Eric sighed as he watched her, and walked to where she was standing and held her in his arms.

"Don't cry love. I'm just worried about you. You got into poison oak; it makes you break out in an awful rash." Eric didn't mention that he thought she was allergic to it; she was worried enough as it is.

"Poison? Does that mean that I get a rash first, and then I die?" Ariel whispered, scared now as tears started to fill her eyes. First bees, then poison! Was she going to die at 17?!

"No, you're not going to die Ariel." Eric said, amused at her theory. A breath of relief came from her lips, and Eric couldn't help but laugh. Ariel gave him a pout, and he kissed her forehead gently, holding her in his arms. "It just means that you get a rash that's really itchy." Eric said with a smile, but frowned when he saw she was still scratching.

"It _is_ really itchy." Ariel said, scrunching up her nose and trying to scratch at it more. Eric sighed, but took her wrist and led her to the carriage.

"Don't scratch Ariel." Eric told her, trying to hold onto her hands and the reins at the same time. It was impossible, he had to let go of her hands.

"I can't help it. It's itchy!" Ariel complained, scratching furiously at her arms. Eric sighed and looked over at her, still scratching.

"You're going to get scars." He warned, but Ariel only scratched harder, pushing her sleeves up so that most of her upper arms showed, and therefore she could scratch at it more. Even in places where she hadn't been touched by the poison oak, it was itchy. Was that normal?

"But I'm so itchy!" Ariel complained again, scratching hard at the skin. Her entire arms were red from the scratching and the poison oak now. Not her idea of a nice day in the meadow with Eric. First bees attack her, and then she gets into poison oak. Wonderful.

"But scratching makes it worse." Eric said, sighing. He wanted to hold her and make her stop this scratching, but it was impossible since he had the reigns. And he wasn't about to give them to her either; she might not remember the second day when she made that suicide attempt across the cliff, but he did.

"I can't stop scratching because it's too itchy." Ariel argued her point, still scratching. Ugh, her arms looked so red and terrible, but she couldn't do anything about it.

"Here we are." Eric announced, and Ariel nodded but still scratched at her arms. The minute Ariel was out of the carriage, Eric pushed down her sleeves, to maybe stop the itching, if only a little. "Don't scratch." He warned, holding her close so that he could make her stop it. But Ariel fidgeted and even if she didn't scratch, she was about to. Eric held both her hands in one of his, making her give him an annoyed look but he didn't care. He didn't want her to get scars.

"Let go of my hands." Ariel hissed as they entered the castle. Eric grinned at her tone; she was like a furious kitten.

"No." He said in an even tone and Ariel frowned deeply, a little mad even.

"I take it that your ride went well?" Grimsby asked politely, as he saw the young couple, even though his words had a bit of humor in them. Ariel, as usual, was all dirtied up from the ride somehow, even though Eric looked clean.

"It was pretty nice, until the bee hive attacked Ariel, and then the poison oak came into play...." Eric said with a grin as Grimsby's eyes widened as he took in the fidgeting girl who was trying to get out of Eric's grasp.

"Bee hive? And poison oak?" Carlotta questioned, coming up next to Ariel who gave a sheepish smile as she tried to have Eric let go of her.

"I don't like bees very much." Ariel stated, still trying to get out of Eric's grasp. He smiled behind her back and kissed her cheek.

"You're not escaping." He told her with a teasing smile.


	17. Chapter 17

"Eric, let go of the poor child before she fidgets to her death." Eric grinned at Carlotta's words, her disapproving frown saying that if he hurt Ariel he'd be in trouble. Eric released his hold on Ariel, and she gave Carlotta a grateful smile. This was gone in a moment. "And you dear, there's a bath just waiting for you. Come on, let's get you clean." Carlotta said, taking the girl's wrist and dragging her off.

Eric watched the scene, with no small amount of affection in his eyes for Ariel who was being dragged off, and Grimsby smiled at the boy. Ariel had truly changed him, now he was so much more responsible and caring about things; before, it was hard to even get him to anything besides sailing. Ugh, sailing. Nasty thing. How Eric could stand it, he would never know. Even after his parents' death, he wasn't afraid to go back out.

"Oh, would you just look at your arms? Tsk, what happened this time dear?" Carlotta said with a sigh, pushing Ariel into the tub. Both of her arms were all red, from the scratching and the stings, and the poison oak.

"I kind of started...playing around with poison _oh-k_, and then I sort of....touched a bee hive and they got really mad....and attacked me." Ariel said with a sheepish smile, as water was poured over her head in an attempt to keep her clean.

"Whatever possessed you to touch a bee hive dear?!" Carlotta asked bewildered at the short explanation. Honestly, how could one girl get into so much trouble some times?

"I was curious." Ariel defended, as she scratched her arms. It was too itchy not to scratch at them! But not as itchy as it was before when her arms were dry.

"Don't scratch!" Carlotta scolded gently, but Ariel made a face.

"But it's so itchy!" Ariel whined, still scratching. Carlotta gently took her hand off of her am and placed it back in the water.

"If you scratch it will only get itchier." Carlotta scolded still, shaking her head at the teenager. Really, that girl was always getting into so much trouble!

"But--" Ariel tried to argue that it wasn't all that bad, when water was poured over her head.

"No 'buts' dear, don't scratch." She scolded again in a motherly tone, shaking her head again at the teenager who was trying not to scratch, but was having a hard time following that order. "You'll get scars." Carlotta warned, and Ariel grimaced.

"Scars aren't _that_ bad." Ariel defended, but she knew that she had lost the battle already. She didn't scratch, knowing if she did, that Carlotta would probably smack her hand away. Carlotta scrubbed down her arms so they weren't that itchy anymore (while scolding her to be more careful of course) and then she was allowed to go back to her Eric, who was smiling as he saw her. Her arms might not have been that itchy, but they were still somewhat itchy so she had to scratch.

"What's so funny?" Ariel wondered, slipping next to him on the couch. Eric just grinned more, and pulled her next to him.

"Nothing." He said with a bigger grin, as Ariel frowned.

"Tell me." She urged, letting some hurt slip into her voice. If he felt guilty than he would more than likely tell her. But Eric only smiled his amused little half smile at her, before wrapping his arms around her, and holding his wife close.

"Nothing love. Here, but this on your arms. It will stop the itchiness." Eric explained, dangling a small bottle of lotion in front of her face with a teasing grin. Ariel snatched the bottle in a moment, and seconds later she was spreading the contents of it on her arms.

"It looks weird." Ariel complained, looking at her arms which were filled with the lotion. But she had to admit that her arms weren't itchy anymore.

"It will help stop the itchiness." Eric said with a light grin, fighting the urge to just laugh. She did look a bit funny with that lotion all over her arms, but before he knew it, she had pushed down the sleeves of her dress to cover her arms.

"Now I won't look so strange." Ariel said with a happy smile, and then she looked back at Eric. "I'm going to the beach, okay?" She said, making sure he knew where she was going to be. She hated to worry him, just as much as he hated being worried _for_ her.

"Want me to come?" Eric asked simply, knowing that it was best to ask. It wasn't unusual that she wanted to go to the beach, but sometimes she just wanted to be alone next to the sea, and he could hardly argue that that was strange, seeing as how she'd been raised in the sea.

"I just want to go....alone...sorry." Ariel said, wincing at her own words. She'd spent all of winter cooped up inside because of small snowstorms. That and Eric watched her like a shark. He had jokingly threatened when she complained that she could go outside if she wanted to that if she stepped one foot outside during the snowstorm, he would drag her back to the castle and lock her in their room, like a caged animal.

"Don't be sorry Ariel. I understand." Eric said, putting on a smile for her. He did understand why she wanted to be alone sometimes, but he could never tell her how it ached inside of him to not be with her. "Just be back by dinner, alright?" He said, smiling bigger as her eyes shined.

"Okay!" Ariel said cheerfully, kissing Eric's cheek before skipping off. Finally, she could go to the beach!

It took her maybe a minute to get to the beach and with a furtive glance behind her at the castle, she grinned and took off her shoes before sitting by the waves at letting the water cool off her feet. Feet. Ariel still couldn't get over the fact she was a human, and she still giggled when she curled her toes.

"Sounds like you're having fun on land." A voice noted with humor, and Ariel immediately sat up straighter, knowing that voice anywhere.


	18. Chapter 18

"Attina!" She said as her eyes grew wide, and a smile spread across her pretty features as she looked out at her oldest sister in the water. Attina grinned and sat on the sand with her sister, throwing her arms around her.

"Good to see you too Ariel." Attina laughed, and Ariel hugged her tighter. Then Ariel abruptly pulled away, a bit sheepish as she looked down at her now wet dress.

"You're getting me all wet!" Ariel said, grimacing. Attina raised an eyebrow in question at that.

"The former mermaid refuses to get wet?" Attina asked with a small grin, but still kept an eyebrow raised anyway. Ariel stuck her tongue out at her sister, but laughed at the irony.

"I'm not refusing to get wet." Ariel defended, moving her head high. Attina gave her a skeptical look, and Ariel quirked her lips. "Well why don't _you_ try to stay dry?" Ariel wondered, and Attina laughed lightly.

"I'm a mermaid Ariel, remember? Or has the sun been getting to your head?" Attina wondered back, jokingly knocking her knuckles against Ariel's head.

"Funny." Ariel said with a sour look towards her oldest sister, before brightening. "How is everyone?!" She asked, with no small amount of happiness in her voice. She loved her family to death that was for sure.

"Daddy sends his love, and Adella told me to ask you if there are any cute guys on land." Attina said with a half grin, and rolled her eyes, as Ariel laughed. She knew how boy crazy Adella was. "Arista is still playing the sea-sax, and practicing in our room, _every _day. Oh, and she also stole your pillow, for Mr. Fuzzyfinkles, which didn't make Aquata that mad because she has a boyfriend," Here Attina stopped to eye her sister, who had wide alarmed eyes at the thought of Aquata with a boyfriend. "Yeah, I know. Alana's just been Alana; trying to impress the boys with her weird creams and whatever it is she puts on her face before sleeping. Adrina has been having a fun time with _that_." Attina said, finishing up how everyone is with a laugh.

"What about Sebastian and Flounder?" Ariel voiced out, furrowing her eyebrows at the thought of Attina missing both of her friends.

"Oh, right! Sebastian's been busy with new music that he says 'will be a masterpiece.' And Flounder has a girlfriend!" Attina said with a wink and Ariel laughed, a big grin on her face...until she thought about one more person who hadn't been talked about.

"What about you?" Ariel asked with a smile, as Attina slowly but surely blushed.

"Damon...proposed last week. We're getting married in I think a month." Attina said with a small blush to her sister's excited gasp.

"Attina! How could you have left that out?! That's wonderful! I'm so happy for you! Oh, I wish I could go, but...." Ariel trailed off, giving her sister a half smile that was sympathetic.

"I know Ariel, I know. Don't be so hard on yourself; Adella will probably tell you every single detail after the wedding anyway, so it will be kind of like you were there." Attina said with a sympathetic face back to her sister that said 'sucks, I know'.

"Of course she will! Attina, I'm so happy for you!!" Ariel said, throwing her arms around her eldest sister, not caring if she got a little wet. Attina was mostly dry anyway from the sun.

"Thanks Ariel." Attina said with a small grin, still blushing. "I told you about life at home, now it's your turn to tell me about life here." Attina said, waving her hand around to show what she meant.

"Everything is great! Nothing really important has happened lately....I broke my arm when I fell off of a horse but I got the cast off two weeks ago...oh! Eric told me a ball is coming up! It's supposed to be called....um....okay I forgot." Ariel admitted, to her sister's eye roll. She didn't want to tell Attina she'd gotten into poison oak, or that she got attacked by a beehive today; her sister didn't know what that was, and Ariel didn't feel like worrying her....and her friends/sisters/father because she knew Attina would tell them everything.

"First, I'm glad everything is great. Second, try not to kill yourself Ariel, I mean it. And third, of course you forgot; you forget _everything_, like a certain concert....." Attina let that thought trail off as she was playfully shoved.

"I had more important things on my mind; like how escape being shark food." Ariel defended as Attina laughed.

"Again with the shark story. Really Ariel, you have to come up with a better excuse than _that_." Attina said, still not believing Ariel's tale of how a shark almost ate her and Flounder. "I should probably get home before Daddy get's worried. Tell Eric I say hi, okay?" Attina asked, hugging Ariel tightly before jumping back into the water.

"Of course." Ariel answered, feeling like _Queen_ Ariel with that one sentence, because it was so polite. "But only if you send my love to everyone back home, especially _Damon_." Ariel yelped as she narrowly missed a splash directed at her. She heard Attina's laugh in the distance, as she laughed too, and waved goodbye to her sister. Now she didn't feel like Queen Ariel anymore, she felt like Ariel, the teenage girl who was constantly in trouble. It felt good.

"I better get back home too." Ariel said softly to herself, noticing how the sun was already starting to set. She repressed a shudder as she saw the sun, remembering the third day when...well, she wasn't going to get sad now. Shaking her red hair out, she carried her shoes in her fingers, until she was at the backyard of the castle and had to go back inside.

"You're back late." Eric noticed with a grin, coming up beside her. Ariel gasped in surprise, but welcomed his embrace. How did he do that? Every time, how did he sneak up on her so quietly?!

"Sorry." Ariel said with a grin back, giving him her wide eye innocent look. Eric gave her a skeptical look at that, but then grinned widely and led her to dinner. After dinner, they decided to relax a little in the library, just the two of them.

"Do you want to tell me why you were late?" Eric asked with an easy teasing smile, and Ariel rolled her eyes at him, but smiled all the same.

"That depends." Ariel said with a teasing grin back, and Eric smiled so wide that his dimples showed. "Do I get a reward for telling you?" She asked with raised brows, and Eric brushed a lock of her hair away from her face.

"If my lady wishes." He said with a wink, causing Ariel to giggle as she leaned in and caught his lips in an embrace. Happily warmed in his embrace, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and enjoyed how his lips felt electric against hers.

It was Eric who pulled away first, much to Ariel's pout. He only smiled warmly at her, and leaned back against the couch, as her head used his chest as a pillow. He gave her a questioning look then, with a smile still and she only shook her head at him.

"Fine, I'll tell you!" She laughed, smiling warmly back at him. "My oldest sister, Attina was at the beach....and she had to fill me in on everything back at home, and I had to fill her in on everything that's been happening here. Damon and her are getting married." Ariel said with a nostalgic smile, thinking of her own wedding.

"That's wonderful." Eric murmured, his fingers running through her own red hair.


	19. Chapter 19

"Do you remember our wedding?" He asked, his mind picturing Ariel back in that white dress. If his eyes had been wide the first time he'd seen her in that pink dress, than his eyes then could only be described as colossal, gigantic, humongous, enormous, those words could only barely describe how wide his eyes had been.

"You make it sound as if we're already old. It hasn't even been a year yet!" Ariel said with a giggle to Eric's lazy grin.

"True, but that doesn't mean that I won't ever stop loving you, even then." Eric said softly, running his fingers through her red hair. Almost a year ago she'd saved him from near drowning, and he'd first seen her terrified of Max, and draped in a sail cloth on a rock, staring at him with these electric blue eyes that made him want to sigh.

Ariel suddenly pulled her head off of his chest, and sat up fully. Frowning, Eric sat up too, looking at her with question written in his eyes. Ariel turned her head to stare at his blue eyes with such intensity that it made him wonder what had brought this on.

"Eric...it's like catching lightning, the chances of finding someone like you. Its one in a million, the chances of feeling the way we do. No mountain's too high enough; no ocean's too wide to describe the way I feel about you. Or....the way you feel about me. Things might come between us at times....but no matter what....I love you." Ariel said softly, her slender fingers tracing the muscles on his chest while her other hand entwined with his.

"I love you too Ariel. I love you too." Eric said, and his lips were brought against hers with such a fiery passion that none could deny their love.

Years passed by in a rush, seasons changed, people grew, some died, some born anew. A princess was born, Melody, because she was the song of the King and Queen's lives. They watched her grow into an intelligent young woman, and they saw her married off to Alec, the same boy she could barely speak to the night she turned twelve. Together they had twins, a boy and a girl with both blue eyes and bright red hair, like their grandmother. The palace was filled with the sounds of their laughter and joy as they started to grow up, just the same as their mother before them had.

Ariel's own bright red hair slowly turned gray, and Eric's strength diminished some. They grew wrinkles in their faces, and they weren't as nimble as they used to be. It was one day that they were sitting together in the palace library, sometime in early spring when a smile spread to both their lips, as déjà vu hit them.

"Eric, remember when I was seventeen, and you were twenty? We sat on this same couch, and I teased you because you had asked if I remembered our wedding, and I told you that you made it seem as though we were already an old couple." Ariel said with a soft laugh. For an 86 year old, she still had those bright electric blue eyes that still captivated Eric every time she talked.

"And then I said that I wouldn't stop loving you, even until now. You told me that it was like catching lightning, the chances of finding someone like me. You said that no mountain was too high or no ocean to wide to describe the way you feel about me, or the way I feel about you. And you said that things may come between us, but no matter what you'd always love me." Eric said with a soft laugh to hers. It was hard to believe that this 89 year old man had once been twenty years old, and that he and Ariel had 70 years of marriage to one another.

"I told you that 71 years ago Eric.....and I still believe it's true." Ariel said softly, a small tear falling down her wrinkled cheek. Eric only brushed the tear off and repeated the same thing he had told her over 71 years before.

"I love you too Ariel. I love you too." He whispered, and their lips caught in an embrace like no other. The embrace of a wonderful marriage for years and years, and happiness that none that hadn't found their true love wouldn't even begin to know about. They had both made sacrifices for one another, but in the end, nothing stood in the way as they embraced their other half warmly, loving the feel of them. And no matter what obstacle that had been thrown at them, they had gotten through it, together forever.

That night, with their love for each other expressed so thoroughly, and with both their hearts soaring, they both passed in their sleep.....smiling.

The End


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